Wednesday Journal 090821

W E D N E S D A Y

September 8, 2021 Vol. 42, No. 6 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

Oak Park targets small biz, nonprofit grants

Vaccine mandates Pages 12,13

THE DAILY GRIND

$550,000 in federal Rescue funds earmarked by village board

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Oak Park businesses and non-profits will get a piece of the village’s share of America Rescue Plan Act funds in the form of a new grant program, for which $550,000 has been allocated. Called the “Oak Park Business and Non-Profit Coronavirus Recovery” program the grant program was designed by village staff to be easy to apply for and accessible to many entities.

The village board approved the use of the Rescue funds for the program Aug. 30, although Trustees Arti Walker-Peddakotla and Chibuike Enyia voted against doing so out of concern that the not enough had been done to gather the community’s input.

Out of the $550,000 allotted to the program, $300,000 will be go toward helping small businesses make past-due rent or mortgage payments. The village will provide individual organizations vying for this assistance up to $5,000, on the condition that the business has less than $3 million in annual average gross business receipts. The village estimates that $300,000 in grant funds could result in helping at least 60 Oak Park businesses.

The village will make $150,000 available out of the $550,000 to reimburse small businesses for personal protective equipment (PPE) purchases and safety equipment installation expenses incurred since March 2020.

Each individual business, providing they have less than See GRANTS on page 6

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Skateboarder grinds but doesn’t labor at Stevenson Skatepark on a sunny Labor Day Monday.

OPRF reports two COVID outbreaks in two weeks

Among 26 Illinois schools reporting coronavirus since reopening

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

Almost two weeks into the new school year, Oak Park and River Forest High School has reported two COVID-19 outbreaks, thrusting several staff and students into quarantine.

The first was reported Aug. 24 and involved three employees, said Karin Sullivan, a spokesperson for OPRF. Thirty-five students and employees were identified as close contacts and required to quarantine. Two students and an additional employee also tested positive for COVID in the same week, but those cases were not

part of the outbreak, Sullivan said.

According to the school’s COVID-19 dashboard, a total of 87 students and five employees were placed under quarantine during the week of Aug. 20-26. Sullivan said the total reflects the number of See COVID OUTBREAKS on page 13

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Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

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Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

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‘T

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On Labor Day, I thought about the Pullman Porter

things: they are miracles.” he most influential In their own communities, the Black man in America for the hundred years steady pay and the cosmopolitan following the Civil War sensibility that was a byproduct was a figure no one of their travels made Pullman knew,” writes author Larry Tye porters as prestigious as doctors, in his eye-opening 2004 book, lawyers and teachers.

Rising from the Rails: Pullman But they were among the Porters and the Making of the lowest-paid railroad workers and Black Middle Class. were subjected daily to myriad I’d argue people still don’t indignities, like being called know. Not like they should, con“George” or “boy,” sometimes by sidering what the porters meant whites half their age. to Black history, to labor history In 1925, when “five lonely Pull… to American history. man porters plotting to launch Commentary They were the Black men a union” tapped a struggling, (and they were virtually all men), who 36-year-old activist whose time “appeared to from the late 1800s to the mid-20th century, have passed” to lead their union, the Pullman worked on the passenger trains that were company had been in existence for over 60 as ubiquitous as today’s airplanes. They years. were the 19th- and 20th-century equivalent Asa Philip Randolph, the new head of the of flight attendants. They babysat, shined Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, was shoes, cleaned up after drunken passengers, a brilliant communicator and competent made beds with military precision, dusted organizer. jackets and did a million other things for “We used the word Brotherhood for its mostly white patrons who often called them psychological organization effect,” Randolph “George.” recalled. “The purpose was to get the men George Pullman founded the Pullman convinced of the fact that they were brothCar Company, which had a monopoly on the ers and have a common interest, each one, building of luxury railroad cars, also called in helping make it possible for all porters to “sleepers,” that most Americans crisscrossed have a better life.” the country in before airplanes. Pullman was The Brotherhood’s, and the porters’, effect the United Airlines of its day, but only more was more than psychological. Even before powerful and with greater market share. they formed a union, porters wielded massive Pullman porters, the men George Pullinfluence in popular culture and in the Black man hired to work on his trains, were “not community. expected to have human proportions,” were For instance, countless southern Blacks “phantom assistants” who, like slaves, “did were persuaded to head north after World not merit the dignity of a name or identity of War I by reading copies of the Chicago any sort,” who “embodied servility more than Defender newspaper that porters smuggled to humanity,” who was expected to be “an everrural black enclaves. obliging manservant with an ever-present And many of those porters, before they smile” who was there at white passengers’ unionized, were often the single, most influbeck and call (the sleepers were segregated, ential member of their families and commutheir benefits largely off-limits to Blacks). nities. As Tye convincingly argues, name a In the eyes of white travelers, porters took prominent African American and it’s likely on their master’s name, which became so that they were either porters themselves or ubiquitous in the company’s heyday that fahave a porter as a relative. mous whites named George took offense that It’s probably not an overstatement to say their name was associated with these black that the Black middle class was built on the servant-slaves. backs of Pullman porters. They virtually The white men named George, Tye writes, bankrolled and provided the organizational were so annoyed that they formed the Society infrastructure of the modern Civil Rights for the Prevention of Calling Sleeping Car movement.

Porters George, SPCSCPG for short, “which Twelve years after they were founded, and eventually claimed thirty-one thousand nearly two decades before Martin Luther members, including England’s King George King Jr. became the figurehead of the MontV, George Herman “Babe” Ruth, George M. gomery Bus Boycott, A. Philip Randolph and Cohan, and Georges Clemenceau of France.” his Brotherhood “signed its first contract But Pullman porters pushed on, with silent with the Pullman Company,” Tye writes. dignity, brutal cunning and courage. Their The NAACP explained in 1937 within its tale is emblematic of the Black struggle in the magazine, The Crisis, that the labor contract United States, which the New York columnist “undoubtedly marks the first time that an allMurray Kempton brilliantly captured in a Negro union has signed a contract with one line that Tye shares in his book: of America’s largest industrial organizations; “It is a measure of the Negro’s circumthis is the first time that Negroes have constance that, in America, the smallest things tributed so much of their own pennies (some usually take him so very long, and that, by the million and one-half dollars) to push a fight time he wins them, they are no longer little for economic betterment; this is the first time

MICHAEL ROMAIN

INFLUENTIAL: It’s probably not an overstatement to say that the Black middle class was built on the backs of Pullman porters. they have stuck together so long in a struggle in which there were so many odds against them; this is the first time that so important a step forward has been made under entirely Negro leadership.”

And, as Tye notes, that was “just the beginning of the list of ‘firsts.’” The porters were also the first labor organization “of any color to displace a company union” (the Pullman Company had created its own union in order to placate porters before the Brotherhood was formed).

The Brotherhood was the “first Black union admitted as a full-fledged member of the AFL [the American Federation of Labor] and the most successful Black union ever.” In 1968, a Pullman porter, Earl A. Love, launched against Pullman Company what may have been the first national class-action lawsuit. And the list can be added to.

Randolph’s success with the Brotherhood catapulted him to national prominence. He’d use his leverage to threaten President Franklin D. Roosevelt with a March on Washington if he didn’t do anything about discrimination in the defense industries during World War II. At first Roosevelt refused. Randolph doubled down. Fiorello La Guardia, the mayor of New York City at the time, brokered a compromise between the two head-strong leaders that resulted in Roosevelt signing Executive Order 8802 on June 25, 1941, “just six days before the march was due to be held.”

The order stated that “there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government because of race, color, or national origin.”

Fourteen years later, Edgar D. Nixon — the

“son of an Alabama sharecropper,” “past president of the Montgomery and Alabama branches of the NAACP, which he helped found, and the current president of the Progressive Democratic Association” — was up early, making phone calls.

He called Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy first, then Rev. H.H. Hubbard. They both agreed.

Then he called a little-known preacher of a prominent Montgomery church, who needed time to think about what Nixon was asking him. “‘Yeah, Brother Nixon, I’ll go along with it,’” the preacher eventually relented.

Nixon told him, “I’m glad of that, Reverend King, because I talked to 18 other people, I told them to meet at your church at three o’clock.”

They met to talk about a strategy to desegregate Montgomery’s buses. A day earlier, on Dec. 2, 1955, Rosa Parks, then a member of the NAACP, had been arrested. Nixon wanted King to lead the movement that would galvanize around Parks’ arrest and pressure the city to desegregate the buses.

King was pastor of the “wealthiest and most influential Black church in Montgomery, he had not been in town long enough to make enemies, and he was almost as eloquent as Nixon’s mentor, A. Philip Randolph.”

Nixon, as Tye writes, would’ve been the “obvious choice to have presided over that first meeting and the wider boycott, as King himself said afterward.” But Nixon couldn’t.

He was too busy with his day job — as a Pullman porter.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

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Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

Movies in the Park Thursday, Sept. 16, Dusk, Scoville Park Catch the last family movie of the summer under the stars courtesy of the Park District of Oak Park - A Dog’s Way Home. Free. Drop in event. Lake and Oak Park Ave. More: pdop.org/events/moviesinthepark

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

BIG WEEK September 8-15

BRI AND MARIA

Hunger Action Month: Live Chat with Bri and Maria Monday, Sept. 13, 1:30 to 2 p.m., Facebook Live with Beyond Hunger Get the inside scoop with Beyond Hunger’s Nutrition Team while they discuss their programming and the connection between health and hunger. View here: facebook.com/GoBeyondHunger. Also recorded for future viewing. For other Hunger Action Month activities, including a bingo card of ideas and dine-and-donate opportunities with One Lake Brewing, go to: gobeyondhunger.org/events

Keeping in Touch: Garden Party Fundraiser Friday, Sept. 10, 5 to 9 p.m., Compound Yellow’s (CY) Side Yard Garden Support Terrain Exhibitions and CY, organizations that promote community engagement through public art.

Enjoy music by DJ Curt(is) Spins and bid on the auction of 60+ artist-made garden ornaments and “Keeping in Touch” care packages (K.I.T.S). $25, includes one drink and refreshments. Tickets/more: compoundyellow.com/ events. #244 Lake St., Oak Park.

Juggling Funny Stories

Porchfest Friday, Sept. 10, 6 to 8 p.m., Oak Park Porch

Catch the last concert of the season and hear The Medina Family and Falling Stars. Bring a chair. Drop in event. Free; donations accepted.

More: facebook.com/OakParkPorchfest. 832 S. Humphrey.

Dressing Mrs. Farson, A History of Fashion in the Early 1900s

Barrie Fest Saturday, Sept. 11, Noon to 5 p.m., Barrie Park Come out for a day of community, food and fun. Plans include a climbing wall, an inflatable obstacle course, a business fair, a FitzGerald’s truck concert around the neighborhood and at the park, the Book Bike, Wheel & Sprocket bike repair station, Popify ice pops and food arranged by Takeout 25 (kicking off as a nonprofit) to benefit Beyond Hunger. Donations accepted: gofund.me/3f80c5af. More: facebook.com/seopco. 1011 Lombard, Oak Park.

WINSTON CHOI AND MINGHUAN XU Photo by Patricia Willis

UTRF Chamber Music Series

A World Peace Concert

Friday, Sept. 10, 7 p.m., Unity Temple The Unity Temple Restoration Foundation (UTRF) opens its Unity Chamber Music Series season with Duo Diorama and Friends featuring Piano Quintets by Florence Price and Robert Schumann. Performing are MingHuan Xu, violin, and Winston Choi, piano, both of Duo Diorama, along with Liba Shacht, violin; Lawrence Neuman, viola; and John Sharp, cello. Masks required. $30; $25, UTRF members; $10, students. Up next, Nov. 6, Lincoln Trio.

More/register: UTRF.org. 875 Lake St., Oak Park.

Saturday, Sept. 11, 7 p.m., a River Forest home Music & Potlucks presents an outdoor, socially-distanced vocal performance by tenor Bradley Schuller and soprano Christine Steyer, both highly regarded operatic vocalists from Oak Park. The concert commemorates the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Proceeds support The Church of Beethoven, a nonprofit classical music concert series located in the Oak Park area. $20, general admission lawn seating; $30, VIP tickets that include early access to the venue, prime chair placement and a special treat. Location released after ticket purchase. Tickets/more: musicandpotlucks.org.

Sunday, Sept. 12, 2 to 3 p.m., Outside at River Forest Public Library Join story-performer Chris Fascione as he acts out the best of classical and contemporary children’s literature and folktales in a fun-filled, participatory show featuring storytelling, mime, juggling and comedy. Appropriate for kids of all ages. Moved indoors if needed. Register: riverforestlibrary.librarymarket.com/events/jugglingfunny-stories-chris-fascione. 735 Lathrop Ave.

Fall Plant and Garden Tool Exchange, Plastic Pot Return Saturday, Sept. 11, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Rubinstein Garden Gate, Oak Park Conservatory: Join other gardeners and share favorite perennial plants, houseplants and extra garden tools. Also drop off empty plastic pots for reuse. Drop off materials from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.; pick up items from noon to 12:30 p.m. Brought by the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory. More: fopcon.org/conservatory-events.

615 Garfield, Oak Park.

Wednesday, Sept. 15, 7 p.m., Pleasant Home Former Pleasant Home owner John Farson was known for his red ties and dapper clothes. This lecture delves into ladies’ clothing in the early 1900s, including John’s wife Mamie and her personal style through photographs and newspaper articles. Also see items from Pleasant Home’s collection and an interactive reproduction outfit. After the lecture, explore the opening of the “Dressing Mrs. Farson” exhibit on the 2nd floor. $10; $8, members. Tickets at the door of the event, in person during operating hours (Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.) or online: pleasanthome-foundation.square.site. 217 Home Ave., Oak Park.

The Dooley Band Concert Friday, Sept. 10, 7:30 to 9 p.m., Garden, River Forest Public Library River Forest natives, the Dooley family have been entertaining Chicagoland for over 40 years with their folk music and more. Concert will move indoors if needed due to inclement weather. Free. Sponsored by River Forest Public Library Foundation. 735 Lathrop Ave.

Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

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I

It’s just a bump

talk when I drive. Sometimes in a raised voice. Maybe, if you’ve braved Oak Park Avenue over the past seven months, I’ve talked to you.

Likely I said, and here I’m paraphrasing and simultaneously cleansing, “It’s just a bump!”

As we have all noted, Oak Park Avenue has been under construction since Spring Training, since vaccines became widely available, since the days were lengthening and Hole in the Wall was still in hibernation.

This was one of those downunder construction projects.

Water pipes. Sewer pipes. The vaguely worrisome “utilities.”

Everything under the street that dated back to the late 1800s was replaced, whether it needed it or not. Then there were curbs and driveways. Asphalt scraping (so fast) and then a new layer of asphalt (so simple and flat) and the promise of a second layer of asphalt and then, voila, a new street.

Unexpectedly, unhappily and unfortunately the second layer remains elusive. Instead we have entered a new and tense phase known technically as screwing around with the manholes. What, the manholes were too low? Needed concrete poured around each precious one? Anyhow this manhole interlude has got me talking again to my fellow drivers.

It’s just a bump. Cars have springs or something. You can go faster than 12. Make the light!

Now it is true, and it weakens my case, but after seven months of essentially off-road travel up and down Oak Park Avenue that little air pressure light on my dash — sort of golden-hued, an exclamation point wrapped in parentheses — has now appeared. And now I’m talking to it.

“I looked at the tires. They look OK.” “For God’s sake, the second coat of asphalt is nearly here!”

But as I’ve slowly driven this backbone of village transit this long year a few things I’ve noticed: ■ Walgreens (at Madison) really needs to replace and/or retape the historical pix that line its Oak Park Avenue façade. It was nice touch 10 years ago. Fix it.

■ The Oak Park Arms (at Washington) changed its awnings and signage from a

deep green to maroon. I liked the green better. Let’s take a vote.

■ The Chase Bank drive-thru (at Madison) is the busiest drivethru I know. Never been there myself. Still regret the loss of Clark Pontiac on that corner.

■ Oak Park Bank, Wintrust if you lift the hood, is about ready to open (at Lake). And while I still regret the loss of Winberie’s I’m not going to boycott it like I do Chase.

■ As reported by our Melissa Elsmo, Fritzi’s, a genuine Jewish deli, is coming into the old Geppetto’s pizza (at Hunter Court). Cannot wait for this.

And locally owned, too.

■ That senior building going up on Madison and which I stare at when the driver in front of me, sometimes the mope two cars up, fails to make the light, is of good size, went up faster than the street got finished, and so far isn’t bad looking.

■ When at the same intersection, for the same reason, I also note there is still not a Pete’s Fresh Market rising. However, being a regular reader of the local paper, I know it is still coming. And I’m confident it will be superior to the one-month-of-the-year Christmas tree lot on the site.

■ The Community Fridge just outside Carnival Grocery (Just north of Harrison) is a terrific community building project.

Thanks to all who make it work.

■ People will wait in long and semi-socially distanced lines in the middle of a dusty construction zone for ice cream from Hole in the Wall. We all need something we can count on.

■ Oak Park Bakery (just south of Garfield) will outlive us all. Thank God. ■ When this project finally ends, and it may, CVS (at Roosevelt) needs to replant its landscaping facing Oak Park Avenue. Send a memo to corporate. Will take about $5,000.

■ The coolest new building on Oak Park Avenue went up during the street rebuild.

The 801 (at Van Buren) is 37-units of affordable housing. The building is nothing but handsome. Got a chance to tour it last week. What a great addition to the village.

Our full story by Lacey Sikora is coming later in September.

That’s the report from Oak Park Avenue.

And remember, it’s just a bump.

DAN HALEY

The coolest new

building on Oak Park Avenue went up during the street rebuild.

The 801 (at Van Buren) is 37-units of affordable housing.

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@OakPark

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Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

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Oak Park moves forward with racial equity planning Village board considers adding a manager position to staff

By STACEY SHERIDAN

step,” while Trustee Jim Taglia called the presentation “excellent” and appreciated the “thoughtful, logical approach” to racial After being effectively stalled for multiple equity planning. years, efforts to focus Oak Park’s village govThere was slight wariness from a couple ernment on racial equity moved forward last trustees when it came to staff ’s recommenweek with a detailed presentation by village dations to extend the village’s partnership staff and a warm reception from village with National League of Cities (NLC) to suptrustees. port the racial equity planning process and During an Aug. 30 village board meeting, hiring a racial equity manager.

Human Resources Director Kira Tchang preFor the latter recommendation, Trustee sented a racial equity workplan, laying out Ravi Parakkat shared concerns over the fisteps already taken and what nancial implications of creatlies ahead, including the creing a new staff position. As ation of a racial equity action an alternative to hiring someplan and a recommendation to one outside the village orgahire a racial equity manager to nization, he asked the board oversee efforts – to the general to consider appointing a perdelight of the village board. son already on the payroll.

As described by Tchang, the Village President Vicki Scaracial equity action plan is man found Parakkat’s idea “both a process and a product” good in theory but likely imdesigned to achieve “meaningpossible in practice, given the ful and measurable results” ARTI WALKERPEDDAKOTLA sheer amount of work laid by establishing timelines, acout in Tchang’s presentation Trustee countability and performance and the number of responsimeasures. bilities currently required of The plan “articulates a clear village staff. and bold vision” for racial eq“I don’t know that we necesuity that is informed by “comsarily have anyone here at vilmunity members of color who lage hall that has that kind of have been most impacted by time,” said Scaman, who addstructural and institutional racism.” ed she was “very excited” about the prosect Other necessary requirements of a racial of hiring a racial equity manager. equity plan include equipping village staff The village president wondered out loud with training, knowledge and tools to inte- what village staff would do in the event that grate equity into operations and the govern- budgetary limitations would render the hirment as a whole. ing of that position fiscally irresponsible. As With the racial equity action plan comes she immediately resumed asking trustees the “racial equity toolkit.” Also referred to their thoughts on Tchang’s presentation, her

by Tchang and the board as a “tool,” sin- question went unaddressed. gular, the toolkit serves as a benchmark by Trustee Arti Walker-Peddakotla, the which to evaluate decisions to “ensure ex- board’s most vocal racial equity advocate, plicit consideration of racial equity issues.” threw her support behind the idea of havThe tool itself is a list of questions, includ- ing a racial equity manager. Having someone ing, “Will the proposal have impacts on spe- in a long-term role specifically dedicated to achieving and maintaining racial equity in cific neighborhoods, areas, or regions?”

As the presentation was only for discus- Oak Park will ensure work continues past the sion, the board took no action other than tenures of the current board, said Walkerto give their largely favorable input and to Peddakotla.

“It will take decades of work and it is not a commend Tchang for her work. Trustee Lucia Robinson believed the information pro- one-and-done thing,” she said.

Walker-Peddakotla did not, however, agree vided served as a “great foundational first Staff Reporter

“It will take decades of work and it is not a one-and-done thing.”

GRANTS

Small biz, nonprofits benefit from page 1 $3 million in annual average gross business receipts, can receive up to $2,500. Program guidelines state that the $150,000 could provide assistance to 60 businesses at least.

Finally, $100,000 will be set aside to provide

grants of up to $3,000 to Oak Park non-profits for reimbursement of PPE purchases and safety equipment installation expenses incurred since March 2020. The village estimates $100,000 could result in at least 33 non-profits receiving assistance.

Trustee Susan Buchanan told the board that she, prior to the meeting, had discussed the grant program with the Oak Park River Forest Chamber of Commerce personnel and relayed they were “generally supportive” of the grant initiative.

Five steps to racial equity Creating a racial equity action plan, as the village of Oak Park has committed to doing, requires the completion of a five-step process, ending with the plan’s implementation and evaluation. A large portion of Human Resources Director Kira Tchang’s Aug. 30 presentation involved walking the village board through each stage. For the convenience of readers, Wednesday Journal has provided a summary of the route to racial equity, or at least the route to a plan for it.

The process begins with the “preparation” phase, during which the village board must pass a resolution committing to equity goals, the creation of a village equity team and providing training to members, as well as engagement with the community, particularly those who aren’t white. The engagement portion also includes partnering with community organizations, citizen commissions and using village data to catalogue disparities.

“Research [and] information gathering,” the second step in the process, consists of inventorying existing qualitative and quantitative racial data, such as hiring and contracting practices, workplace demographics and community-level data “disaggregated by race in housing, jobs, ed-

ucation, criminal justice and other areas.”

All of the research data collected will then be summarized and communicated to “internal and external” stakeholders as part of the “research findings” step.

At this point, Tchang explained, a written update would go before the village board and public, giving both the opportunity to provide input.

The penultimate step in the process, “develop plan,” is the actual creation of the plan itself. This aptly titled step involves determining courses of action and performance measures, as well as writing a racial equity guiding statement, which Tchang called “the North Star” of the equity team.

Once reviewed and finalized, the plan is rolled out to village staff and the community through “multiple modes of communication” determined by the equity team and village board in the “implementation, reporting [and] evaluation” phase.

“It should be a really exciting time for the community to see what work will be going on related to racial equity,” said Tchang.

After the plan’s implementation, the village’s racial equity work will be tracked through annual reporting then presented to the public.

Stacey Sheridan

with staff ’s recommendation to have NLC assist in the village’s racial equity work, wanting to know why it was chosen over the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE). Her disfavor for the former organization dates back to July 2020, when she voted against hiring NLC as the village’s racial equity training provider. While she found NLC’s racial equity training lacking, she suggested making it a requirement that all future board members take part in racial equity training.

Trustee Susan Buchanan, echoing Walker-Peddakotla, made mention of the mass resignation of six of seven Community Relations Commission members following the previous village board’s decision to choose NLC over GARE for racial equity training.

“I know we’re trying to build that [commission] back up, but I really feel like it is the appropriate role of the Community Relations Commission to be closely involved with this process,” she said.

Trustee Chibuike Enyia thought having a fully manned Community Relations Commission along with a racial equity manager could only prove advantageous in building better race relations. With some foundation laid and the beginnings of a strategy in place for the future, he believed Oak Park residents should feel more “confident” that the village board would follow through on its racial equity goals.

“We’re on the right path right now,” Enyia said. “And I’m super excited to see where this takes us.”

The grant program has a simpler application process than COVID-19 relief grants the village provided to businesses through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Coronavirus Aid, for which the federal government had very strict and specific income eligibility requirements. Those requirements are not attached to current grants, according to Tammie Grossman, Oak Park development customer services director.

The new grant applications are only one page and can be found on the village’s website. In

addition to filling out an application, program guidelines state that non-profits and businesses must attest they qualify for the grants, as well as provide copies of receipts for PPE and safety equipment installations or provide an assigned letter from a landlord or mortgage holder to confirm past-due payments. The latter requirement is specific only to businesses.

“The benefit of the current program, as we currently have structured it, is that it’s very simplified, very easy,” Grossman told the board.

Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

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Is proud to bring you

Is proudFEST to bring you BARRIE

BARRIE FEST

At Barrie Park Sept 11, 12 to 5PM

Ben’s BBQ Billy Bricks Cafe Cubano

In 2018, Vantage Oak Park, the massive apartment tower at 150 Forest Ave. in Oak Park, sold for more than $100 million.

Two years later, Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office assessed the building’s market value at around $90 million. Kaegi’s assessment would have translated into roughly $8 million in property taxes due on the Vantage property for the 2020 tax year.

But in Illinois, property owners not satisfied with assessments have three levels of appeal: the township or county assessor level, the Illinois Board of Review level and the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board or Circuit Court appeals.

After appealing the assessor’s figure with the Cook County Board of Review (BOR), Vantage’s market value was assessed at $48.5 million and the building’s 2020 tax bill

was cut by 40 percent, to $4.9 million.

“We don’t understand how they’re arriving at their decisions,” said Assessor Kaegi, referencing the BOR. “I feel like Oak Parkers need an explanation.”

Kaegi, himself an Oak Parker, said the BOR’s massive assessment reduction is consistent with what’s happened across Cook County this year, as many residential property owners have seen their tax bills skyrocket while the largest commercial property tax owners have experienced substantial tax relief.

“Assessments determine the share of property tax burden,” Kaegi said. “It’s all about how much the average residential homeowner is footing the burden versus commercial and non-residential properties footing the burden.

“When we came into this office, the data

● ● ● ● ●

Equity Editor

See PROPERTY TAXES on page 17

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Vantage high rise gets 40% tax cut. Kaegi blames appeal processes

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Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

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Beyond Hunger, Housing Forward to receive fed Rescue Plan funds Amounts not to exceed $85,000 and $500,000, respectively

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Beyond Hunger and Housing Forward will each receive a portion of the federal funds allotted to the village of Oak Park through the America Rescue Plan Act. Out of $38.9 million Oak Park is set to receive, the village will share a not-to-exceed amount of $85,000 with Beyond Hunger and $500,000 with Housing Forward, as decided by the village board Aug. 30.

While many village board members expressed disappointment that the resolutions were brought to the board table without giving the public an opportunity to provide feedback, the virtue of the work being done by both non-profits and the prevailing need for it to continue quieted concerns. Both resolutions passed unanimously.

Beyond Hunger Executive Officer Michele Zurakowski said the bulk of the $85,000 would go toward staffing at the food pantry.

Due to the increased need for services, the food pantry converted three existing positions from part time to full time: the pantry coordinator, volunteer manager and pantry programs manager. Beyond Hunger also added a full-time home delivery coordinator.

In public comment, Zurakowski said cli-

ents are still uncomfortable visiting the food pantry in person and are eager for alternative procurement options to continue, such as drive-thru pick up, which has proven popular.

Past funding allowed the food pantry to extend its referral partnerships to include organizations beyond Oak Park township, like Thrive Counseling Center, according to Zurakowski.

She told the board the number of Oak Park residents utilizing the food pantry, which anyone can access once a month without referral, has grown considerably during the pandemic.

“What we’re seeing is an increase in Oak Parkers who are doing that – both people who are needing food and in the number of times that they access services,” she said. “They now represent 20 percent of repeat food pantry guests up from about 12 percent pre-pandemic.”

Referencing the disparate impact COVID-19 has had on Black and Brown communities, Zurakowski told the board Beyond Hunger engages those communities to determine their food needs and how they would like to receive support.

The client advisory council, comprised of program participants, has been meeting monthly or bi-monthly throughout the pandemic, making hundreds of wellness check calls and conducting multiple surveys.

“What we’ve found through that work is that overwhelmingly people appreciate the variety and quality of protein and fresh produce, and they’d like to see even more of

FILE

Staff from Housing Forward load up a vehicle with meals.

FILE

A BIRD IN THE HAND: David Bradley, Beyond Hunger’s distribution supervisor, loads a turkey into a car during drive-thru distribution. those hard-to-get products,” she said.

Beyond Hunger is now looking to curate specialty food boxes, according to Zurakowski, such as gluten-free food packages for people with gluten intolerance and packages with Latin foods and flavors.

“And the latter is being tested in a special pop-up pantry,” said Zurakowski.

The pop-up is an effort by Beyond Hunger to target Latinx immigrants, she said. As many immigrants are fearful of any agency requiring individual documentation, Zurakowski said members of the community reached out to request the service, which requires no identification Beyond Hunger found that, while Latinx immigrants were frightened of data sharing, older Black adults were afraid to leave their homes during COVID-19. “Racist employment, home finance and covenant policies created a wealth gap,” said Zurakowski, that left older Black adults few resources to fall back on, increasing the demand for home deliveries in this demographic, which tripled in one month.

“While initially we thought the need would diminish that has not been the case,” said Zurakowski.

Beyond Hunger makes calls to every home delivery client each month to take food orders and conduct wellness checks. Those calls she described as “heartbreaking and affirming” at the same time.

She called the timing of the release of federal Rescue Plan funds “fortuitous,” as it coincides with the sunset of such federal assistance as the eviction moratorium and unemployment benefits, adding that Beyond Hunger is already feeling the impact as pantry usage has risen in anticipation.

“We expect that need will continue to build,” said Zurakowski.

Housing Forward, an organization commit-

ted to ending homelessness, had to change operations considerably due to COVID-19.

The highly contagious nature of the virus prompted Housing Forward to not only abandon its rotating church-based shelter model, but group shelters completely. The rotating shelter model had been in use for 27 years.

Clients instead were put up in hotel rooms to allow for social distancing and, when necessary, isolation.

Housing Forward Executive Director Lynda Schueler told the village board that the $500,000 would allow for the extension of the organization’s flexible rental program. The program exhausted its funds, which came from the village’s affordable housing fund, last December, according to Schueler.

The federal Rescue Plan funds, she said, would also allow Housing Forward to hire a full-time case manager to oversee clients who have been rehoused with mainstream housing vouchers through the organization’s partnership with the Oak Park Housing Authority in conjunction with members of the Oak Park Homelessness Coalition.

“Those [clients] are individuals who have actually been rehoused but they don’t right now have the service piece connected to their long-term rental subsidy through those vouchers,” said Schueler.

Housing Forward also looks to use its Rescue Plan money to support a three-flat the organization rented for about a year, according to Schueler, for large families who are better served in a residential setting than hotel. The flat’s lease renewal is approaching.

Schueler told Wednesday Journal the $500,000 in ARPA funds would not go toward the cost of leasing out the Write Inn hotel for another year. The organization entered into a year-long lease for the full use of the hotel last September to house clients in its interim housing program.

Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

9

Dominican students’ vaccine outreach pays off

Faith in the Vaccine program leads to 300 vaccinations in Maywood

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor

A group of Dominican University students helped persuade more than 300 people to get vaccinated in Maywood, where, according to county data, only 40 percent of residents are fully vaccinated.

The River Forest university’s Faith in the Vaccine program over the summer focused on communities with many COVID-19 infections and low vaccination rates.

“The Interfaith Youth Core is one of our longstanding partners at Dominican and they recognized the role faith-based communities can play in communities heavily impacted by COVID,” said Tara Segal, program director.

The students assisted with vaccination efforts at a range of Maywood faith-based institutions, including the Quinn Center at St. Eulalia Parish, Holy Corinthians, Miracle

Revival Church, the Maywood Park District and the Center for Spiritual and Public Leadership in Maywood.

Segal said the program was established back in May, with roughly 50 students applying in a matter of days. They ended up with a cohort of 12 participants, she said.

The dozen participants reached out to people in laundromats, food pantries, currency exchanges and other public spaces.

Nathaly Valdivia Oberto-Besso, a biology and chemistry major at Dominican, told the university that the outreach was valuable, particularly on her path to pursuing a master’s degree in public health and epidemiology.

“I want to be a science detective, trying to figure out how diseases work and how to prevent them,” she explained in a statement Dominican released Aug. 16.

“I’ve had so many people in my family impacted by COVID. It was important to me to talk with people in my community to help them understand how to stay healthy,” she said.

They also reached out to their fellow Dominican students to persuade them to get vaccinated. At Dominican, vaccines are mandatory.

PROVIDED

FRONT LINE: A Dominican student and member of Faith in the Vaccine welcomes Maywood residents to get vaccinated.

“Because they were within the community, they were more trusted,” Segal said.

In hard-hit communities like Maywood, she said, the program participants had to modify their outreach after getting feedback from residents.

“At the beginning, we thought this was going to be largely an accessibility issue,” she said. “But we found out that accessibility wasn’t really the issue — vaccine hesitancy was.”

Segal said Dominican students encountered a range of urban myths around the vaccine, including claims about its effect on

fertility. Some people said they were hesitant to get vaccinated because they don’t know what’s in the shots.

“One of my students responded, ‘That’s funny, how do you know what’s in Advil?’

They had conversations that were really on the ground,” Segal said.

“You can stand there all you want and logic this, but you’ve got to go deeper and share why you believe what you believe — not just what you believe because you’re not going to get anywhere with that,” she said.

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Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

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Now a tree grows for Elijah Sims

Murdered in 2016, Sims remembered with tree, plaque at Rehm Park

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

On the night of Aug. 30, Sharita Galloway sat underneath the canopy of a tree in Rehm Park in Oak Park. It’s the eve of what would’ve been her son’s 22nd birthday, and Galloway, who was anchored by her rollator walker, found herself surrounded by friends, family, neighbors and local leaders.

Galloway’s son, Elijah Sims, was shot on Aug. 29, 2016, while standing outside with friends in nearby Austin on Chicago’s West Side. Sims, who was just shy of turning 17 and a student at Oak Park and River Forest High School, died a day later.

In the years following his death, community members, elected officials and activists have joined Galloway and her family at candlelight vigils, prayer services and balloon releases to keep Sims’ spirit alive. And now, a tree at Rehm Park bears Sims’ name with a plaque placed at the base of the trunk, a new remembrance. The park is at East Avenue and Garfield.

“I can only speak for myself,” said Galloway into a small megaphone. “I’m not doing anymore balloon releases.”

Galloway and her friend, Barbara Dolan, explained to the crowd that the tree dedicated to Sims served as a living memorial. The two recently teamed up and inquired about the Park District of Oak Park’s memorial tree and bench program.

“Elijah deserves something more mean-

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

State Rep. Camille Lilly speaks to attendees on Aug. 30, during a tree dedication ceremony for Elijah Sims at Rehm Park in Oak Park. ingful than a balloon that goes up to the sky and then falls back to earth,” said Dolan, adding the long tradition is not eco-friendly. “We get used to seeing balloon releases because they’re spectacular. They’re beautiful. We like the idea of sending prayers to heaven, but unfortunately, balloon releases are not good for our planet.”

“We found this one,” said Dolan, pointing to the tree tucked by the park’s soccer field, behind a fence that outlines the pool. “Part of the idea was that King [Sims’ younger brother] would be able to come here whenever he wanted and climb this tree and think about his brother.”

During the dedication ceremony, Dolan gave guests red roses. Galloway asked them

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Sherita Galloway, Elijah Sims’ mother, prays on Aug. 30.

Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Rev. Ira Acree leaves a rose for Elijah at his tree in Rehm Park. to place 22 roses on each side of the tree in honor of Sims and her godson, Timothy Murphy, who was also shot and killed just over a week ago.

There was a moment of silence, followed by prayer and a call-and-response from the Rev. Ira Acree, pastor of Greater St. John Bible Church in Austin and a founder of

the Leaders Network, a social justice organization. Other guest speakers, including state Rep. La Shawn Ford and a friend of Galloway’s from a support group, offered reflection, while state Rep. Camille Lilly led the group and sang “This Little Light of Mine.”

“Each person that I have here today are

11

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Elijah Sims is remembered with roses and a memorial tree on Aug. 30. individuals that were there for me when I first lost my son on Day 1,” Galloway said.

“They came to my house without hesitation, without even knowing me.”

After the event ended, Galloway stayed under Sims’ tree. As the crowd dispersed, some of the attendees – most of whom were family friends – lingered, waiting for

their chance to greet Galloway.

Galloway said “everything” has been difficult since Sims’ death, and she has one message to share with those who are willing to listen.

“Stop the violence,” she said, reaching out to hug a close friend who emerged from the crowd. “Learn to communicate better.”

12

Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

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Join Us in Celebrating 35 Years!

Upcoming Programs and Events Sept 11: Fall Plant & Tool Exchange at the Conservatory Sept 17: Toddler Exploration Time (Virtual) Sept 22: Designing with Dahlias (Virtual) Sept 24: Uncorked at the Conservatory

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Visit us: 615 Garfield, Oak Park Tues - Sun 10 am - 4 pm OakParkConservatory.org

Oak Park sees 65 new COVID cases

Contact tracing called essential

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

The number of new COVID-19 cases weekto-week remains high in Oak Park, with a whopping 65 new cases reported by the village Sept. 2. That number is markedly higher than the previous Wednesday, when the village of Oak Park announced that there had been 38 new reported cases.

The latest batch of cases range in age from younger than four years old to in the 90s, with the majority of cases occurring in people under 50, according to the village of Oak Park.

The rate of transmission for COVID-19 in Oak Park also remains high, as Interim Village Manager Lisa Shelley detailed in the weekly status report to members of the village board of trustees. The report states that Oak Park’s current weekly COVID-19 transmission caseload of 1,190 positive cases per 100,000 people places the village in the “high community transmission range.”

Shelley’s memo included the caveat that the numbers reported do not reflect those residents who have tested positive using an at home self-administered test. Those tests must receive confirmation from official testing sites.

Oak Park had an increase in positive cases of 250 percent in August from July, while July had an increase of 750 percent over June, according to Shelley’s report.

Due to these developments, the village of Oak Park is emphasizing the need for residents to respond to calls related to contact tracing. Contact tracing also serves to help health officials track the number of breakthrough cases.

“Anyone who receives a call from the Oak Park Public Health Department or any certified health department may have tested positive for COVID-19 or had close contact with someone who has tested positive for the highly contagious coronavirus,” the village’s Sept.

2 report stated.

“The importance of answering or returning the call can’t be overemphasized, officials say, because you could be at risk of becoming ill or spreading the virus unknowingly.”

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Upstaged

Photo by JILL WAGNER

The 200 blocks of Euclid and Linden united for a weekend block party and pet parade. Jyn tried to take down the house with her signature lounge act on top of the cardboard stage, while her shih tzu block mate, Kashi kept an eye out for squirrels.

Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

13

Gov’s vaccine mandate simplifies, complicates school planning

State deadline passed Sept. 5

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

With the deadline for local school employees to get at least the single-shot COVID-19 vaccine

by Sept. 5, many school officials have worked themselves into a frenzy, scrambling to piece together a plan and meet the governor’s latest order.

In an Aug. 26 press conference, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that all public and private school and university employees must receive the single-dose COVID-19 vaccine or the first dose of a two-shot vaccine by Sept. 5, over Labor Day weekend. The mandate – which also applies to college students and healthcare workers – left school administrators just days to track down hundreds of students’ and employees’ current vaccination status, set a schedule for Covid testing, and figure out the terms if they do not comply.

Karin Sullivan, director of communications at Oak Park and River Forest High School, said the question isn’t whether OPRF will follow through with Pritzker’s order. It’s about working out the finer details of the directive and providing guidance to roughly 500 employees.

This year, staff and students could voluntarily share their vaccination status, she said. At this point, 84% of OPRF employees are fully vaccinated.

According to the vaccine mandate, those who opt out of the Covid vaccine because of medical or religious reasons are subject to, “at a minimum,” weekly testing.

“Are we going to test once a week? Are we going to test more frequently?” said Sullivan of the details that OPRF District 200 leaders and members of the district’s four collective bargaining units are discussing now during “impact negotiations.”

Prior to Pritzker’s Aug. 26 announcement, District 200 and Oak Park Elementary School District 97 had sought to pursue their own vac-

COVID OUTBREAKS Redefined from page 1 individuals who were named close contacts as well as additional positive cases unrelated to the outbreak. She clarified that people in quarantine are not positive for COVID-19.

“They’re just out on quarantine.”

The second outbreak was reported Aug. 31, almost a week later, and involved five students — close contacts are still being investigated, Sullivan said. More information on the second outbreak will be made

cine mandate for their employees.

Sullivan said there are parts of the vaccine mandate that seem rather unclear, including the definition of “school personnel” and if those who are unvaccinated because of choice – not because of medical or religious reasons – can qualify for Covid testing.

Sullivan said she wondered whether athletic referees or even construction workers are considered “school personnel” and would need to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or get tested.

The mandate stated that “school personnel” includes people who are employed by, contracted to or volunteer for a school or school district. Those individuals must be in the school for more than 15 minutes at least once a week “on a regular basis as determined by the school,” the guidelines read.

Sullivan said again, there are those details “that the state has not given us any solid direction on, and districts are getting different information from their legal counsel. So, we really, really need those specifics from the state, and we have no idea when we might get those.”

Over at District 97, Amanda Siegfried, communications director, said collecting and verifying their employees’ vaccination status was tedious, not “super challenging.” Siegfried, said the district’s biggest issue is setting up the COVID-19 testing program for faculty and staff, as there has already been a delay to start the program for their students.

D97 sought to begin weekly Covid testing for students Aug. 30 but experienced a setback due to the large number of school districts working with SHIELD this year. More than 1,200 schools in Illinois, including District 200 and River Forest School District 90, have teamed up with SHIELD, a program from the University of Illinois that offers free COVID-19 saliva tests, according to a news release from the university.

“And then, the governor’s mandate came,” Siegfried said, adding the district recently moved the testing date to Sept. 2. “I think available through the dashboard on Sept.

3. The dashboard is updated by 4 p.m. every Friday.

The Illinois Department of Public Health has defined an outbreak as “two cases that are linked epidemiologically with respect to [a] person, place and time.” That means, the two cases “have shared close contacts” and occurred in the same location within 14 calendar days of each other, the IDPH stated on its website. The criteria for COVID-19 outbreaks previously involved five or more cases but have since changed, Sullivan said.

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recently updated its definition of a close contact for schools.

what’s happening is that it’s placing a lot of stress on the providers.”

District administrators, elected officials and members of four collective bargaining units continue to negotiate the terms of the vaccine mandate.

“The deadline is challenging,” Siegfried said, “but we’re doing everything possible to ensure that we’re in compliance.”

In River Forest, officials from River Forest School District 90 and Concordia University Chicago are working under the same constraints. Like District 200 and District 97, the two schools are still gathering their employees’ vaccination information and navigating the mandate’s request.

Echoing Sullivan and Siegfried, Dawne Simmons of District 90, said the toughest part about meeting Pritzker’s latest mandate is “trying to pivot to get this done.”

“The executive order says what we have to do, but we still need to know how we do it,” said Simmons, District 90’s communications and community outreach coordinator.

“The governor provided us with what we had to do,” said Simmons. “The how – trying to figure out all of the details and all of the specifics and all of the logistics of how do we do it – has been the challenge. Trying to do this quickly within less than a week. …”

At Concordia, university officials have yet to decide what repercussions staff and students could face if they do not meet the governor’s order, said Eric Matanyi, an associate vice president for communications and marketing.

Matanyi said the university has yet to finalize the number of staff and students who are fully vaccinated.

The university, which is currently offering the two-dose Moderna COVID-19 shot, has launched vaccination clinic dates for staff and

students. Clinics will be held from 1 to 3 p.m.

Sept. 10 and 17 in various locations on CUC’s campus. Pre-registration is required. For more information on Concordia’s COVID-19 guidelines, visit www.cuchicago.edu/generalinformation/covid-19-information/.

Unlike the schools in Oak Park and River Forest, Dominican University had previously required its staff and students to be fully vaccinated against Covid before returning to campus. As of Aug. 30, 91% of faculty and staff and 86% of students are fully vaccinated, said Jessica Mackinnon, director of public information.

“We didn’t really have to pivot,” Mackinnon said.

Mackinnon shared that DU updated its vaccination requirement guidelines to include penalties. By Sept. 24, all students must have uploaded their COVID-19 vaccination records, or they will be dismissed from the fall semester. Students can re-enroll once they provide proof of their vaccination status or an exemption form.

By Sept. 24, all students must have uploaded their COVID-19 vaccination records, or they will be dismissed from the fall semester. Students can re-enroll once they provide proof of their vaccination status.

“We are allowing medical and religious exemptions, but we need to know that, too,” Mackinnon said. “In other words, you just can’t not let us know what your vaccination status is.”

Full-time faculty and staff who do not submit a vaccination survey and disclose their status by Sept. 24 may face disciplinary action.

At this point, a majority of faculty and staff have already completed the survey, she said.

DU is planning to hold a vaccination clinic for students and staff. Details are forthcoming.

DU is also offering free COVID-19 self-test kits for faculty, staff and students which can be found at different locations on campus, Mackinnon said.

Students are no longer considered close contacts if they have stayed 3-6 feet away from the student with COVID – and if they and the student with COVID are both masked “correctly and consistently,” the CDC stated. The exception does not apply to staff, teachers, and other adults. The CDC has also stated that people who are fully vaccinated do not have to quarantine.

OPRF is among 26 schools in Illinois to report an outbreak since fully reopening, according to data released Aug. 27 from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). Aside from OPRF, three other Cook County schools, including Maine East High School, Reavis High School and Glenbrook Elementary, have also reported

outbreaks tied to students.

Sullivan said while the word “outbreak” can be scary, it is important to keep in mind that OPRF’s total confirmed COVID-19 cases are still low.

“We understand why the news of any outbreak is very concerning to our families,” she said. “We want people to keep in mind though that our positive cases overall remain low, and we are being diligent about following up on positive cases, as well as contact-tracing with anyone who has to go into quarantine to make sure that we stop any transmission that’s happening within the school, and we will continue to be vigilant about our tracing to minimize any spread.”

‘How do we do it?’

14

C R I M E

Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Juvenile arrested for battery, robbery, stolen auto One juvenile was arrested and detained in Cook County Juvenile Detention Center Aug. 28 on charges of aggravated battery, aggravated robbery and aggravated possession of a stolen vehicle.

Earlier that day, the juvenile with another juvenile accomplice had forced an Oak Park resident to the ground, injuring the victim’s arm and ankle, in the rear of the victim’s residence in the 6700 block of Roosevelt Road at 5:03 p.m. The two juveniles took the victim’s purse then fled in a black four-door SUV. A vehicle that was reported stolen from Chicago and matching that used by the juveniles was found at 6:31 p.m. in the 1300 block of Gunderson Avenue in Berwyn. The victim’s purse was found inside.

The two offenders were spotted by Oak Park police officers at about 10:12 p.m. in the 7000 block of West Roosevelt Road. Following a foot chase, police apprehended one offender five minutes later in the 6700 block of Roosevelt Road. The offender was found in possession of the robbery victim’s identification and credit cards, as well as the key fob belonging to the stolen SUV. Police reports specified neither the genders of the two juveniles nor the location of the detainee’s residence.

lice reports state that two of the offenders got out of their vehicle and started yelling at the victims, while a third “appeared out of nowhere” and hit one victim in the face with a closed fist before doing the same to the other victim. One offender then hit the victims’ vehicle with a bat, shattering the front passenger’s side window and damaging the windshield. The first two offenders reentered their vehicle and fled while the third left in an unknown direction.

■ After parking his car, the victim was con-

fronted by the offender, who pointed a black handgun, and took the victim’s Samsung Galaxy S9 cell phone, Lenovo laptop, vehicle and apartment keys and the victim’s wallet, which contained identification and various debit and credit cards, at 6:27 a.m., Aug. 31 in the 400 block of North Austin Boulevard.

Battery Berwyn residents were accosted and assaulted by three individuals, one wielding a bat, while stopped at a traffic light traveling southbound in the 600 block of South Austin Boulevard at 10:08 p.m., Aug. 29. Po-

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Burglary

Armed robbery

A black and silver Taurus PT111 Millennium G2 9mm pistol was stolen from an unlocked gray 2017 Infiniti QX60 in the 100 block of North Cuyler Avenue between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., Aug. 28.

Motor vehicle theft Witnesses saw someone in a black ski mask exit the passenger’s side of a black SUV and hop into an unlocked and running gray 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse then drive away westbound at 3:34 p.m., Aug. 29 in the 200 block of Chicago Avenue. The offender was last seen traveling southbound on Ridgeland Avenue. The estimated loss is $20,000.

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Recovered stolen auto The 2017 Hyundai Tucson reported stolen Aug. 13 from the 900 block of South Humphrey Avenue was recovered in the 5000 block of West Madison Street in Chicago Sept. 2 at 1:11 p.m.

Theft ■ The catalytic converter was cut from a dark blue 2009 Toyota Prius between 10 p.m., Aug. 29 and 8:43 a.m., Aug. 30 in the 400 block of North Elmwood Avenue.

■ The catalytic converter was cut from a silver Honda CRV between 5 p.m., Aug. 31 and 6:30 a.m., Sept. 1 in the 1300 block of North Harlem Avenue.

These items, obtained from the Oak Park Police Department, came from reports Aug. 27 through Sept. 3 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

Compiled by Stacey Sheridan

Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

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BENEFITING

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Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

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ART BEAT

T

Theater on the beach … in Brookfield

he audience pulled their lawn chairs right up to the edge of the “stage,” a virtual “beach” in the middle of Ehlert Park, 4338 Congress Park Ave. in Brookfield. Coastal Disturbances, a romantic comedy currently being produced by Oak Park’s Open Door Theater and Habakkuk Theatre, a troupe with a strong Brookfield connection, is being presented outdoors on the sand-filled volleyball court as a joint venture.

There was great excitement before the show began since most audience members had not seen a live theatrical performance in over a year and a half. It began at 4 in the afternoon, rather like the Globe Theater 500 years ago, with no theatrical lighting or sound amplification. The actors keep us informed as to what time of day it is or what is going on in terms of weather. This works well.

The stage needs sand to represent a secluded private beach in New England. I cannot imagine how an indoor theater might transport several tons of sand to their performance space to depict this setting. But this location is perfect and fun.

The production is tightly directed by Hilly Doyle. It’s a light romantic comedy that is often rather funny. Yet I found playwright Tina Howe’s writing somewhat inadequate.

Coastal Disturbances premiered OffBroadway in the mid-1980s and then transferred to Broadway. It was the show that put a 20-something Annette Bening on the map.

The actors are uniformly strong in this ensemble play.

Howe’s plays are noted for their quirky roles and this company manages to keep the characters fascinating, even if they’re not fully developed in the dialogue.

The slender plot, essentially a series of interwoven vignettes, includes several generations of vacationers, but the heart of the story is the summer love affair between a nervous young photographer named Holly who has come to the beach to visit her aunt and a good-looking, friendly and kind lifeguard.

Holly wants to get away from her troubled personal and career life. Back in New York, she is involved with a pretentious art dealer, who is older. Melody Jeffries is believable as whiny, self-absorbed, but still likable. At times she seems to be coming apart.

Andrew Cawley is also credible as Leo, the sincere, nice-guy lifeguard, hired late in the season in the wake of a child’s drowning.

He’s also on the rebound, getting over a bad break-up.

Holly seems swept away by Leo and ultimately confesses her love for him. In one scene, while she is droning on and on about dolphins, Leo buries her in the sand.

There’s a long-married, 70-ish couple who are not part of the main storyline. She’s a cynical amateur painter who doubts her artistic ability while he is a retired eye surgeon who now spends his time collecting seashells on the beach. They often squabble but they have survived many decades of

DOUG

DEUCHLER

Photo by Suzy Krueckeberg

Pictured top left to right, Spencer Schmidt (Winston), Thora Jenkins (Miranda), and bottom left to right, Melody Jeffries (Holly), Jen Connor (Faith) and Tina Shelley (Ariel).

Photo by Suzy Krueckeberg

BAREFOOT IN THE PARK: “Coastal Disturbances,” a co-production by Open Door Repertory and Habakkuk Theatre, is playing through Sept. 26 in Brookfield. Pictured left to right, Diane Wawrzyniak (MJ) and Bill Chamberlain (Hamilton). marriage, are still comfortable together, and celebrate their enduring love. Diane Wawrzyniak and Bill Chamberlain are fun in these roles.

The two children in the cast are exceptionally good. Thora Jenkins and Spencer Schmidt, playing best buddies, are busy and bratty. If you’ve been cooped up all day with noisy, defiant children, perhaps this might not be the play for you. These two talented young performers are quite realistic.

Two women are also vacationing near the beach. Tina Shelley, the artistic director of Habakkuk Theater and a Brookfield resident, is strong and a bit scary as Ariel, the bitter survivor of a messy divorce. She is not a good mother either. Unable to get over her own anger, she loses control with her young son and flies into rage.

Faith, Ariel’s former college roommate, is played by Jen Connor. She has an adopted daughter but is now finally and quite obviously pregnant. These two women are judgmental of Holly but perhaps really just jealous.

In an unexpected second-act visit, Holly’s pretentious, middle-aged, big-city lover, seeks to lure her back to New York City. He’s been stringing her along with the promise of a gallery exhibition. This development should pump some energy into the storyline and rescue Act 2, but it doesn’t.

Playwright Howe has had a long career.

It’s often pointed out that her characters are

quirky and convincingly real. Several of her more popular plays are Painting Churches and The Art of Dining. But I find her writing rather flat. This slender little romance never really fully works.

The characters talk a lot but reveal precious little of their inner selves. We are often left to wonder what made them who they are and why they act in such a manner. Surprisingly, there is not much chemistry in the dialogue between the lovers.

Structurally, the vignettes are not tied together. Though the acting and direction are superb and the outdoor beach-like setting is perfect, there seems to be little message and not much to take away.

There is one intermission in this BYOC (Bring your own chair) production.

For whatever reason, my GPS would not take the park’s address. I ended up just hunting in the vicinity. Look for two blue tents on the volleyball court. It’s actually easy to see.

Coastal Disturbances is a production that sports talent and energy. Despite the shortcomings of the dialogue, it was good seeing a live show outside with a crowd of other people.

Doug Deuchler is a longtime educator and historian who, when he isn’t reviewing local theater for Wednesday Journal, is a stand-up comic, tour guide/docent, film class instructor and author of several books about Oak Park and surrounding communities.

Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

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PROPERTY TAXES Kaegi undermined from page 7 showed commercial assessments in Cook County, on average, were about 40 percent under-assessed. The mission of our administration has been to close that gap and make residential assessments less regressive.”

But Kaegi said the BOR’s assessments have undermined much of that mission.

For instance, the BOR’s 40 percent assessment reduction on the Vantage property translates into an extra $50 to $75 in property taxes for a homeowner living in a $500,000 house in the village, Kaegi said.

In Oak Park, the median residential property tax for the 2020 tax year was $10,422, an increase of $246 over the 2019 median, according to a report by Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas.

The assessor’s office has created an online data dashboard that allows residents to see the difference between residential and commercial tax assessments, along with the degree to which the county assessor’s and the BOR’s assessments diverge.

In 2019, the BOR assessed total non-residential property in Oak Park at $117 million and total residential property in Oak Park at $528 million.

The next year, the county assessor’s total non-residential assessment was $203.4 million while the BOR’s total non-residential assessment for that year was adjusted to $147.7 million, a decrease of 27 percent.

The assessor’s total residential assessment for the 2020 tax year was $554.8 million, which the BOR adjusted to $543 million, just a 2 percent decrease.

According to the assessor’s dashboard, the BOR’s assessment lowered the market value of four out of the five highest valued properties in the village by between 40 percent and 51 percent, virtually halving those property tax bills.

Attempts to contact representatives with the BOR for comment on the appeals process were unsuccessful.

During last week’s phone interview, Kaegi said he was attending a conference in

Chicago of the International Association of Assessing Officers. Kaegi said when he talks to his colleagues from around the state and country about Cook County’s assessment process, they’re often stunned.

“We are a grotesque anomaly in the United States in several ways,” Kaegi said.

Kaegi said Cook County sticks out in the number of appeals, the multiple levels of appeals and the lack of transparency in the data collection.

“The last time we reassessed Chicago, we had about 500,000 appeals,” Kaegi said.

“In Downstate Illinois, less than 10 percent of parcels appeal. The people who can work that system reduce their share of the property tax burden at the expense of ev-

eryone else who end up making up the difference. So, you disadvantage people who don’t speak English or who can’t afford lawyers.”

Kaegi added that Cook County “is one of the few major urban centers in the U.S. that doesn’t have basic powers to collect data.”

The result is that powerful commercial property owners often game the system by throwing the county’s numbers into question based on dubious and murky arguments during the BOR appeals process.

Without automatic and accurate income and expense data provided to the county by commercial property owners, Kaegi said the BOR’s unpredictable assessment

process, one dominated by powerful law firms, will continue to throw a hatchet into his reform efforts.

Kaegi said he’s hopeful that the data bill he’s been pushing in Springfield for the last few years will finally get passed now that Emanuel “Chris” Welch, whose district includes parts of River Forest, is Illinois House Speaker.

The assessor said prior attempts to pass the bill in a state dominated by a Democratic supermajority were stymied under former Speaker Michael Madigan — the founding partner of a law firm that files property tax appeals.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

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Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

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SPORTS Fenwick cross country siblings shoot for all-state success

Bella and Zac Daley hope to build on solid spring track results

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

Fenwick senior Zac Daley and junior Bella Daley already are part of quite a team as the No. 5 and 6 children in their family of seven.

They’ve strengthened their bonds as important parts of another family -- the Fenwick boys and girls cross country programs that often compete at the same meets.

The Oak Park pair are among the Friars’ top runners and have high hopes as they begin their respective third varsity seasons.

“It’s definitely a reason to talk [more]. We don’t run as much together now because our paces are so different, but I think it connects us in a way,” Zac said.

“The same meets and overnights [for trips] connect us because we’re able to talk to the girls. Cross country is great and not like any other sport. I get both [teams’] sides of the story, too, so that’s funny. Sometimes good, sometimes bad but good because I know what’s going on. Our parents love it because they’ll go to one meet and we’re both there.”

Zac’s older brothers were Fenwick football players and wrestlers. Zac also joined wrestling but cross country became his fall sport.

“I had done a ton of sports. I wanted to go down a different path,” Zac said. “When I ran well sophomore year, I realized I could be good. Now, just running, being on the team, is more personal, thinking, clearing my mind.”

Zac also was influenced by older sister Briana, who also played a major role in Bella joining cross country to train for basketball.

A 2014 Fenwick graduate, Briana was a huge running star for the Friars who now coaches at IHSA Class 1A Willows Academy in Des Plaines.

She also is Bella’s only sister.

“Briana was super successful,” Bella said. “Having her as a sister gave me high expectations and high goals, and then I realized I liked [running]. And then I wanted to be the best I could and to be as successful as her.”

Bella contributed immediately to the varsity. As she continues to progress, she’s learned plenty from Zac’s approach to the sport.

“When he comes back from a run, he does all of the little stuff, does core [workouts] or goes to work out and do [resistance] band work. I see how all of the little stuff pays off,” Bella said. “And having a positive attitude while training super hard, even for the summer, that’s really cool. I hope that I can always stay positive throughout running.”

Zac battled injuries as a freshman but his hard offseason work resulted in a breakthrough sophomore season.

“I went from a not really serious runner freshman year to absolutely loving it,” Zac said. “[The freshman injury] was kind of detrimental. Once I realized how much potential I had, I took it seriously.”

BILL STONE/Contributor

After strong showings last spring during the track and field season, Zac and Bella Daley (above) hope to translate that success into top 25, all-state finishes at the IHSA state cross country meet this fall.

The Daleys hope to contend for IHSA Class 2A cross country top-25, all-state honors.

The 2020 IHSA-sanctioned season was limited by COVID-19 and ended with sectionals and no state meet.

Both were all-regional with Bella third and Zac fourth and they finished 16th and 20th at sectionals, respectively. Zac considers regionals his best race ever (16:47 for 3.0 miles) based on personal feelings, not a personal-best time.

At the boys state track and field meet in June, Zac was 12th in the 2A 3,200-meter run (10:28.30) in his first track season. He ran instead of competing another year of wrestling, whose abbreviated season was moved to the spring.

The previous Saturday at 2A girls state, Bella was 10th in the 1,600 (personal-best 5:21.13), 2.72 seconds from a top-nine, all-state medal.

“When I got 10th, I didn’t realize I could place that high. It made me excited to go into this cross country season,” Bella said.

The Daleys still are active with their actual family. Zac is applying for an Evans Scholarship after being a long-time

caddie at the Oak Park Country Club, where Bella and his other siblings have worked, sometimes simultaneously.

“Everyone knows we’re there [by our white car],” Zac said laughing.

Besides the Division I schools connected with the scholarship, Zac is considering Division III Trinity College (Hartford, Connecticut), where Briana competed.

With her caddying, Bella sometimes cannot attend summer training but she does individual workouts often with Briana.

“If I have a three-mile tempo [run], she’ll be right there with me,” Bella said. “I’d say I’m in the same shape, but she’ll give me that little push. Every time I do a workout with her, it just feels better.”

There’s even things Bella has taught her older brother to become better.

“Actually a big thing I learned from her is don’t compare yourself to others,” Zac said. “I still do, but when either one of us finds ourself doing that, it’s like, ‘Hey, you have to be your best self.’”

S P O R T S

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Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

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Fenwick’s Liston commits to play football at Purdue

Becomes fourth Friar senior who will play at the Division I level next year

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

Throughout its history, Fenwick High School has had several distinguished players in the football program like Johnny Lattner and Marques Sullivan.

But with four NCAA Division I recruits on this year’s team, it’s hard to recall another time when the Friars had such a talented group. Fenwick Athletic Director Scott Thies couldn’t either.

“I’m not sure that we have ever had this collection of talented kids,” said Thies, a 1999 graduate of Fenwick. “The 2016 team had quite a few good ones, but not at this level.”

Quarterback Kaden Cobb (Ball State) and wide receivers Eian Pugh (Illinois) and Max Reese (Eastern Michigan) orally committed to their schools during the summer. Now, center Jimmy Lis-

ton has become the latest Fenwick player to commit to a top NCAA Division I program when he announced August 31 that he would attend Purdue University next fall.

For the 6-foot-4, 310-pound senior, the decision to become a Boilermaker made a lot of sense.

“There’s so much upside. [Purdue is] close to home, has a great coaching staff, has a great culture and has great academics,” said Liston, who plans to study finance. “My father played there in the ’80s and won two bowl games, and it’s an opportunity that I could not pass up.”

Liston credits his success to being around a talented senior group.

Competing with his classmates, he said, has made him a better player.

“Individual success is only a factor of how good the team is. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for my great teammates,” he said.

“They’re that piece of the puzzle that I need to get better each day.”

Liston also enjoys the camaraderie he has with Cobb, Pugh and Reese.

“They’re great football players, but even better dudes off the field,” he said. “I’ve got nothing bad to say about any of them; they’re just the best. They’re great leaders, and all of them want to see Fenwick be held upon the pedestal like it used to be.”

Now that the recruiting process has come to an end, Liston -- a fouryear varsity starter -- can fully focus on helping lead Fenwick to gridiron success this fall. The Friars got the season off to a terrific start with a 35-12 rout of Morgan Park Aug. 27 at Triton College, and Liston was especially excited about playing in front of stands packed with Friar Nation again.

“It felt ecstatic. Our student section is amazing and it was special to play in front of a packed house,” he said. “There wasn’t an empty seat

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Fenwick center Jimmy Liston (64) has committed to playing college football at Purdue University in 2022, becoming the team’s second player heading to a Big Ten program. Wide receiver Eian Pugh will play at Illinois. and it was real loud. We’ve got a great fan base.”

With an improving offense to go with an already strong defense, Fenwick has the potential for an outstanding season, an assessment

Liston agrees with.

“There’s so much talent on this team,” he said. “We’ve got to take it one game at a time and focus on our next opponent each and every week.”

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Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

Homes

NEED TO REACH US?

oakpark.com/real-estate email: buphues@wjinc.com

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

The building at 156 N. Oak Park Ave. (above) was built as Oak Park’s first YMCA, but has since been converted into a condo building whose residents are dedicated to implementing sustainable practices.

Vintage condo building in Oak Park goes green Residents form committee focused on environment

By LACEY SIKORA

W

Contributing Reporter

hen 156 N. Oak Park Ave. was built in 1903 as a YMCA, it was a hub of the growing village. The state’s first Sweet 16 basketball tournament was hosted on its basketball court, and hundreds of villagers swam in its indoor swimming pool.

In the early 1990s, the brick building was converted to condominiums. Today, the 28unit building remains at the center of village life geographically, but with a decidedly

more residential spin.

Resident Elaine Johnson and her husband moved to the building in 2018 after over 20 years living in a house in south Oak Park. At the time of their move, the building’s green roof, which sits atop its underground parking garage was leaking and a special assessment was required to rebuild it. Johnson appreciated that the building’s landscape committee was very active, but she noted a lack of an environmental committee.

When the condo board created the position of green coordinator, Johnson volunteered and recruited a team to help bring

the building into the 21st century. Through small changes, the group is working to make the building’s carbon footprint lighter and hopes to connect with other local condo boards to collaborate on good strategies.

After years in a house, Johnson quickly learned that it can be more difficult to establish green practices in a multi-unit building.

For instance, Waste Management only offers recycling services to buildings with five or fewer units, so their building had to look elsewhere for recycling collection.

Condo resident Janet Clough moved to Oak Park from New Jersey about two years

ago to be nearer to her family, and joined the green committee with an early focus on the rooms on each floor housing recycling bins and garbage chutes.

As the COVID-19 pandemic was just beginning, her early role was to sanitize the door knobs on the entries to the garbage and recycling rooms so residents would feel comfortable using the common spaces during the early days of the pandemic when no one was sure how the disease spread.

“From there, we moved to a committee See GREEN CONDO on page 22

Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

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1008 N Marion, Oak Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $495,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 – 2 830 N. Euclid, Oak Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird & Warner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$567,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 - 3

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Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

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GREEN CONDO

More than recycling from page 20 that was focused on things beyond just recycling,” Clough said.

The group began putting out a newsletter called the Green Scene. The newsletter comes out quarterly, and publication tends to coincide with dates like Earth Day or the autumn solstice. One paper copy is available in the mail room, but the newsletter is also emailed to residents to avoid paper waste.

The group also tackled the lighting in the building’s common spaces.

“Now, approximately 90 percent of the lighting in the common areas is LED, and it’s already saved us money,” Johnson said. “Even our Christmas lights are LED.” After much research, the building made the switch to community solar, since installing solar panels on the building was cost prohibitive.

“Companies put solar panels on farm land,” Johnson said, explaining the community solar concept. “The energy goes into a ‘pot.’ You may not be getting that solar power through your wires, but you’re paying for it.

The farmers benefit, and it’s all delivered to your building by ComEd.” The green committee also organized a few special events, including a paint recycling day, electronics recycling event and a longterm plastic bag recycling project.

Chris Worny, who serves on the building’s landscape committee and has lived in the building for 24 years, found joining the green committee a natural step. She was already trying to consider the environment when choosing native pollinators

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Elaine Johnson (above), the building’s green coordinator on the building’s environmental committee, has been involved in establishing recycling events and procedures, like a long-term plastic bag recycling project and combined recyclable collection (below), installing LED lights (left) and even joining a community solar program. such as milkweed for the building’s garden.

Now she says, the committee is looking to tackle some larger projects.

“We’re trying to figure out how to get charging stations into our garage to encourage people to invest in electric vehicles,” Worny said. “The problem is, our building is quite old and the parking garage is underground. Spaces are narrow, so we don’t have a lot of extra space down there.”

Johnson says another challenge is composting. While residents have expressed an interest, the local residential

compost pickup program does not serve larger buildings.

“Right now, the village has one place to drop off compost near the pump station,” Johnson said.

She is currently taking her compost to a family member’s house, and says the committee is looking into how to make small changes like this more accessible for residents.

To that end, Johnson encourages other condo boards to who have green committees or who are thinking of forming them to reach out.

“We’d like to find other condos that have committees like ours,” Johnson said. “We could share our resources and tackle these issues together.”

PHOTOS BY ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS FRIDAY 5 P.M. Call Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor at 613-3310 ktrainor@wjinc.com

I

Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

VIEWPOINTS

23

Anne’s legacy p .25

What is the answer?

Changing the world

do not do well with the feeling of helplessness. Maybe it has something to do with growing up in a generation with every possible answer to every possible question at our fingertips, but not knowing the solution to a problem is a situation I try to avoid completely. You can understand then why I have recently been hesitant to turn on the radio or scroll through the news.

Most of the headlines as of late have kept me coming back to the same question, “What is the answer?”

Take the situation in Afghanistan for example. Either the United States stayed and continued to fight a decades-long war that cost over 2 trillion dollars and far too many lives, or we fled after years of entrenched American involvement, leaving survivors of the war to clean up after us. Picking one option is like pulling out the last block of a Jenga tower of foreign policy upon which international security rested, ensuring a tragic downfall no matter your move.

When the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, and had the option to avoid this dilemma in the first place, my friends and I were just learning to walk. Now, as we are stepping into the world on our own, it will be our responsibility to deal with the fallout of that decision.

In fact, I think understanding my generation’s role in the future will require accepting that much of what we will be dealing with are problems created long before we could be responsible for them. And I am not just talking about expensive wars. This is certainly the case for the issue of climate change. Decades of ignoring the effects of human behavior has left us in a situation where if net-zero carbon emission goals are not met by 2050, the planet will not be able to evade a threshold of catastrophe. We were born into a world dependent on systems that actively endanger our planet and environment.

In the face of such a daunting and rapidly worsening issue, I feel that same sense of helplessness. No matter how many times we do our little parts, there are still massive groups of people who do not believe the problem exists in the first place. How can we convince mass numbers of people to change their daily behavior if they do not see humans as part of the problem at all? There is a ticking clock on solving this issue before we have done irreversible damage, and it feels nearly impossible to do the work to negate our impact and attempt to change the minds of so many.

Time and similarly misinformed people constrain the COVID issue as well. The longer it takes to end this pandemic, the more people will suffer financially, experience long-term health defects, and tragically die. With vaccines approved and widely available, this pandemic is effectively preventable, yet many refuse to do their part to bring about its end. The county in which my college is located currently has a vaccination rate of only 35% percent of all eligible people. From the scene of maskless people in Walmart, you would think that the pandemic was a thing of the past. The reality is that COVID cases here are up by approximately 74%.

Even in Oak Park, a known progressive bubble, vaccination rates have plateaued at less than 70%. It is not clear to me how we

MARY HESTER

See HESTER on page 30

When are you? Our place in time

B

orn 9-11-1917. Died 12-24-1998.

Bookends on a long story, wellwritten. Carved in granite on a Midwestern hillside. Immutable. One way of answering “When are you?”

As a species, we are obsessed with time. The circle of sarsen stones at Stonehenge records the changing of the seasons; calendars of paper mark the passing of the months; quartz watches mark our time in hours and minutes; and the international network of atomic clocks tracks time to an accuracy of one second every 30 million years. Obsessed as we are with time, we easily lose sight of our place in time.

Do you know the names of your grandparents?

Great-grandparents?

Great-great? More importantly, do you know their stories?

If you have children, nephews or nieces, of course you know their names. Grandchildren, most probably. Do you know their dreams? Can you imagine great-grand progeny?

The people of the indigenous Iroquois Nation could and did. One of their guiding principles was the “seventh generation.” In its historical context, it requires us to base all of our decisions on what will be best for the seven generations that will come after us. A revised Native-American interpretation

BILL SIECK

looks at the seven generations as a combination of the three that came before us, ourselves, and the three following us.

“Each generation is responsible to teach, learn from, and protect the three generations that had come before it, its own, and the next three.” [From the birth of a great grandparent to the death of a great grandchild, there will elapse some 260 years, more time than the entire history of the United States.] “In this way, we maintained our communities for millennia.”

Born 6-16-2021: With fingers too small to hold a pencil and a cortex yet to discover its first words, parents write the introduction to this story.

Born 6-7-2002: Starting college, finding the arc for a story yet untold.

Born 12-19-1968: Mid-career adjustments, refining the narrative.

Born 7-8-1944: Tying up loose threads on the way to “the end.”

What do these four people, representing four generations, share? They are all storytellers with only the first bookends in place. They, and we, join with almost 8 billion other storytellers currently living here on earth, all writing autobiographies — all about us — as written by us.

Since the birth of the first hominid 2 million years

One View

See SIECK on page 30

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O U R

V I E W P O I N T S

V I E W S

Good start on equity

I

t cannot be coincidence that it took the departure of Anan Abu Taleb as Oak Park’s village president and Cara Pavlicek as village manager for a sincere and forwarddriving presentation on racial equity to come before the full village board.

While both Abu Taleb and Pavlicek had many virtues, often noted on this page, seeing the necessity and opportunity to lead on equity was not among them.

But last week, Kira Tchang, village hall’s human resources director, offered a thorough, thoughtful take on what Oak Park’s approach to governing will look like when we finally — actually a decade late — begin to eye large, and little, decisions through a lens of equity.

At the same meeting in which the village board chose a consulting firm to undertake some sort of review of community safety/policing in Oak Park, it also heard Tchang’s report. The same night the board chose a firm to oversee the search for a new village manager, set aside $550,000 for grants to small businesses and nonprofits coming back from COVID, gifted almost $600,000 to worthy nonprofits focused on food and housing insecurity.

Each of these decisions have foundational choices rooted in equity.

Among the topics in Tchang’s report is a decision on whether the village needs to hire a racial equity manager to drive this cultural upheaval at village hall. The answer is an obvious yes.

More critically though will be the hires, likely well before an equity manager is chosen, of that next manager and of a police chief who will replace LaDon Reynolds when he is eventually named U.S. Marshal for Northern Illinois.

Those will be consequential hirings that will fuel, or stunt, Oak Park’s village government to finally lead on racial equity.

About the police consultant Yes, Oak Park’s village board made the right choice, from among two, on the firm to lead a review of policing in the village. BerryDunn was chosen ultimately on its promise of deep and transparent community engagement in this process.

That, of course, is critical.

But before too much more time goes by, it will be time for a much plainer, more direct explanation of just what this $159,000 consulting contract is intending to accomplish.

This feels like an unarticulated holdover from the former administration. A holdover created on the run as some sort of response to serious concerns raised locally — and nationally — in the aftermath of the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis 15 months back.

We’ve long advocated a frank discussion of policing and safety in Oak Park. Our view has been that Oak Park has a better-than-good police department. There has been a reluctance though to take bolder steps, to listen to more voices, to become a great department.

Can BerryDunn lead a process that takes us there? Without a permanent village manager? With a police chief eyeing a new job? Without an equity plan underway with a top administrator guiding it?

We will see.

I

Marking the anniversary, looking ahead

t’s painful casting back to that Tuesday morning. On Sept. 11, 2001, we were working furiously to put out our nexus of newspapers, looking forward to our first edition in color coming out the next day. We chose a picture with a yellow school bus for the front page to celebrate.

Tuesday deadlines were all-consuming in those days. As managing editor, I didn’t have a moment to focus on much else from 7 a.m. till 1 p.m.

So when I walked into Dan Haley’s office mid-morning to ask a question, and he said, “They’re gone,” I had no idea what he was talking about.

“What’s gone?” I asked.

“The two towers,” he said.

I knew about the planes hitting the towers, but that’s all I knew. Suddenly, the world changed. It took hours after deadline for it to sink in. I didn’t see any of the images for a long, long time because I couldn’t bear to watch the coverage.

I wrote about it the next week and the week after, then just before Christmas. I marked the anniversary in 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2011 in my column.

Then I let it go.

Here are a few excerpts from what I wrote:

KEN

don’t want the world to change. It is about telling the world it must change.

“On Sept. 11, when I heard about the first plane hitting the first tower in New York, my first thought was, ‘We need a better world, a world more just.’ … In the absence of justice, there will always be terror. An unjust world cannot be sustained forever by any power. If not a baby in a manger, then Yeats’ rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouching toward Bethlehem to be born. This year it didn’t slouch. It flew — packed with jet fuel, into several of our most prominent symbols.

“Christmas offers another version of subversion — a non-violent version, where the only pyrotechnics take the form of a star, impossibly bright, suspended overhead, beckoning, summoning the better angels of our nature.

“As Tennyson said, it is never too late to seek a newer world, a better world, a world more just.

This world is finished. The powers du jour just don’t know it yet. Neither did Herod. Neither did Rome.

“The world changes, in spite of those in power.”

TRAINOR

9/19/2001, Understanding the hatred “Yes, hatred. The last door down the long hallway of the basement of our emotions. Hatred either makes you crazy or crazy people are the only ones capable of it. I don’t know which, and I really don’t want to know, but I must and so must all of us. It’s the only way to protect ourselves. It’s the only way to make the world safe.

“As one people, we need to walk down that long hallway and, without hatred, open the very last door. … We need to understand why so many people around the world hate us.

“Many would like to see this as a battle between good and evil. But the world isn’t that devoid of gray. We aren’t all good. They aren’t all evil. We aren’t as evil as they think. They aren’t as righteous as they believe.

“I suspect what we’ll find behind the last door is that this is actually a war between the haves and have-nots. … And it’s a war the haves cannot win — not forever. We cannot sustain a world where the gap between rich and poor grows ever wider. The wider it gets, the worse the backlash. No amount of might is powerful enough to contain it.

“If we want a safer world, we need a fairer world.

There is no alternative. …

“Yes, of course, bring these terrorists to justice.

But if we want to win the war, we must bring justice to the world.”

12/19/2001, A pre-Christmas sermon on Sept. 11 “Christmas is the story of the poor, the unprotected, the vulnerable, undermining minor powers like Herod and major powers like Rome. It is the story of simplicity and humility and the awesome power contained within each. … Christmas is the story of pulling the rug out from under those who

9/17/2003, Mourning in America is over “The second Sept. 11 since the terrible attack was much different from the first. It surprised me. …

Evidently it’s no longer mourning in America. …

It was wholly and wonderfully ordinary, a night of unsurpassed peace — what many the world over want, what we have come to represent: peace and prosperity.

“Two years ago this night, America was deep in mourning, and we have grieved long and hard, but no matter how loudly we promise to remember, it is almost impossible to keep life from sweeping us downstream. It’s not that everyone has forgotten 9/11. Far from it. We simply can’t help moving on, carried by the relentless current of now. … This year we are experiencing collectively the unsettling feeling that many of us have known privately — when we first realize we’re beginning to let go of grief. …

“The Harvest Moon is higher now in the sky, yellow, a reminder that we reap what we sow.

“Let’s sow this.

“Sow peace.”

But we did not sow peace. We sowed war. We pursued vengeance, and vengeance never heals.

Let’s hope that leaving Afghanistan will free us up to learn an important lesson: that we need to get out of the nation-building business once and for all.

Our time of healing — and rebuilding our own nation — lies ahead.

But we need more than a monument to remember 9/11. We need a living memorial that reflects the courage shown that day, the extraordinary efforts to help and to heal, and the hoped-for national unity that didn’t last.

The only memorial worthy of those who died, and those who survived, is a better country.

And a more just world.

V I E W P O I N T S D O O P E R ’ S

M

W E D N E S D A Y

M E M O R I E S

Ed had a plan, and it worked

y grandmother’s nephew, Ed Patterson taught English in a Chicago public high school for 30 years. Ed earned a B.A. and an M.A. from Washington University in St. Louis just as World War II started. He entered the Navy in 1942 and served for three years as a gunnery officer on a battleship in the Pacific Theater.

When the war ended, he married Nancy, his college sweetheart, moved to Oak Park, and got a job teaching at a high school on the North Side of Chicago. He and Nancy would come often to our home for Sunday dinner, and he would tell us interesting stories about his job.

During one of these visits, I asked Ed how he not only maintained order in his classroom, but also how he made certain that his students succeeded in his classes. Ed told us he never laid a hand on a student, but instead he used a method that worked well over the years.

He said that a few days before classes began in the fall, he would go to a dime store and buy a few boxes of plain white stationery. When a student was not completing assignments, was performing below academic standards or was acting like a clown in class, Ed would send a letter — minus the school address on the envelope — to the student’s parents outlining the problem.

He related one incident involving a student named Joe: On a Friday afternoon after classes had been dismissed, a rather harried lady came to Ed’s classroom. She said she worked hard all week, and when she came home and saw the plain white envelope, she was certain it was an invita-

Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

tion to a wedding.

When she read the contents of the letter and realized Joe had been acting as the class clown, she informed Ed that in the future, Joe would be on his best behavior. This turned out to be true.

Many times Ed would overhear students asking each other if their parents had received one of his letters, and he would ask the students if they felt guilty about something.

Ed would ask a student whose parents had been contacted how his/her parents were doing, and the student would almost always say that everything was fine at home and in his/ her life.

He knew of teachers who used corporal punishment on students, but he said this method of correction only added to a student’s resentment of the teacher and the resentment could carry over to the student’s life outside of school.

A number of years later, he was named chairperson of the English Department at the high school where he taught.

Ed said he instructed all teachers in his department not to use corporal punishment and not to touch students at all. Instead he encouraged the teachers to use his method or one that would put them in good stead with administrators, parents and students.

He believed that each principal under whom he served liked his method, parents appreciated it, and even students accepted Ed’s plan.

I believed in Ed’s method, too, and used his plan during the many years that I taught.

JOHN

STANGER

Anne’s work will have a lasting effect U.S. was present, and that Anne had a role We just wanted to express our heartfelt in the positive work to bring that about. thanks to you for the column you wrote We are particularly proud of the work about our daughter Anne and her work in that Anne and her colleagues did to supAfghanistan, and particularly for the way port educating Afghan women, starting you approached it [Anne’s vision of a differwith the basics for young children and ent world, Ken Trainor, Viewpoints, Sept. 1]. continuing through teaching adult womLike so many others, we have been saden how to run their own business, actively dened and dismayed by the recent developparticipate in society, and compete interments in Afghanistan. It has become quite nationally. Thus, we have taken solace in difficult to watch those events unfold. We continue to think about the many young AfANNE SMEDINGHOFF the belief that Anne’s work will have a lasting effect. ghan women that Anne, her colleagues, and That knowledge, and those experiences so many other Americans worked with and helped in so many ways, and we worry about their fu- will not go away under a repressive government. It will ture. And as might be expected, we can’t help but won- remain locked in the hearts and minds of a majority der whether it means that the work Anne and others of the population. Hopefully it will soon surface again and be a force for positive change in the not-too-distant did in Afghanistan was in vain.

Yet we are also reminded that almost 65% of the en- future. Your excellent article gave voice to that hope, tire Afghan population is under the age of 25, that all and for that we are very thankful. of them (“an entire generation” as you note) have had a Tom & Mary Beth Smedinghoff taste of freedom, education, and opportunity while the River Forest

A simple mask test

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

Editor and Publisher Dan Haley Senior Editor Bob Uphues Equity Editor/Ombudsman Michael Romain Staff Reporters Stacey Sheridan, F. Amanda Tugade Staff Photographer Alex Rogals Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor Real Estate Editor Lacey Sikora Food Editor Melissa Elsmo Arts Editor Michelle Dybal Columnists Marc Blesoff, Jack Crowe, Doug Deuchler, Mary Kay O’Grady, Kwame Salter, John Stanger, Stan West Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea Designer Susan McKelvey Business Manager Joyce Minich Marketing Representatives Marc Stopeck, Lourdes Nicholls Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan Development & Sales Coordinator Stacy Coleman Circulation Manager Jill Wagner E-MAIL jill@oakpark.com Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs

Growing Community Media BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair Judy Greffin Treasurer Nile Wendorf Deb Abrahamson, Gary Collins, Darnell Shields, Sheila Solomon, Eric Weinheimer

About Viewpoints Our mission is to lead educated conversation about the people, government, schools, businesses and culture of Oak Park and River Forest. As we share the consensus of Wednesday Journal’s editorial board on local matters, we hope our voice will help focus your thinking and, when need be, fire you to action.

In a healthy conversation about community concerns, your voice is also vital.

We welcome your views, on any topic of community interest, as essays and as letters to the editor. Noted here are our stipulations for filing.

Please understand our verification process and circumstances that would lead us not to print a letter or essay. We will call to check that what we received with your signature is something you sent. If we can’t make that verification, we will not print what was sent. When, in addition to opinion, a letter or essay includes information presented as fact, we will check the reference. If we cannot confirm a detail, we may not print the letter or essay.

If you have questions, email Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor at ktrainor@wjinc.com.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

‘ONE VIEW’ ESSAY

■ 250-word limit

■ 500-word limit

■ Must include first and last names,

■ One-sentence footnote about yourself,

municipality in which you live, phone number (for verification only)

■ Signature details as at left

your connection to the topic

Email Ken Trainor at ktrainor@wjinc.com or mail to Wednesday Journal, Viewpoints, 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302

H O W

T O

R E A C H

U S

ADDRESS 141 S Oak Park Ave., Oak ParkIL 60302 ■ PHONE 708-5248300 EMAIL Dan@OakPark.com ■ ONLINE www.OakPark.com

Here is an easy way to discover one truth about your mask: Just put on your mask and hold a string near the front of the mask. Now exhale and try to move the string.

Robert Sullivan Oak Park

Wednesday Journal is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media NFP. The newspaper is available on newsstands for $1.00.

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Advertising rates may be obtained by calling our office. Periodical rate postage paid at Oak Park, IL (USPS 10138). Postmaster, send address corrections to Wednesday Journal, 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, Il 60302. © 2021 Growing Community Media, NFP.

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S P O N S O R E D

C O N T E N T

Spizzico is a family affair Italian spot in Elmwood Park is built on a family legacy

MELISSA ELSMO Food Writer

Elmwood Park is known for serving up a bevy of authentic Italian meals, and Spizzico Pizza and Pasta, 7446 W. North Ave., has been bringing Italian favorites like house made pizza, pasta and baked clams to hungry restaurant goers for more than a quarter of a century.

“We’ve been in business for 26 years,” said Rocco Spizzirri, owner of Spizzico. “I honestly love everything on the menu and couldn’t pick a fa-

vorite.”

Spizzirri’s father bought the Elmwood Park location in 1995 and took a year to transform the former laundromat into a functional restaurant. Thanks to a generational family history of restaurant ownership, Spizzirri’s younger brother Tito Jr., saw the value in restaurant ownership and left a career in accounting to take over Spizzico.

After Tito died in 2015 his wife, Linda, took over the restaurant and expanded it to include Senor Jefe, the Mexican restaurant around the corner that shares a kitchen with Spizzico. With Linda’s blessing and support, Spizzirri took over ownership of

the Restaurant Row mainstay in May 2021.

“We wanted to keep the restaurant in the family, but this is my first time owning a restaurant and honestly I expected it to be easier than it is,” said Spizzirri. “It is more difficult work than I expected it to be, but fortunately it is working with the help of family.”

Honoring the family history of restaurant ownership and keeping Tito’s legacy alive are at the forefront of every decision Spizzirri makes. His daughter, Rochelle, has shown interest in the business and the team, including several extended family members, continues to serve the Italian fare based on his mother’s signature home-style recipes.

Baked clams with breadcrumbs and crispy calamari set the stage for an array of entrees including pastas, sandwiches and pizza. Nothing is premade at Spizzico — even the pizza dough is freshly made every morning. Housemade sauces keep customers coming back for that signature Spizzico flavor. Spizzico is now serving “pizza rolls” inspired by a recipe created by Spizzirri’s uncle. Similar

WANT A TACO WITH THAT PIZZA? Chicken tacos and any other Senor Jefe menu item can be ordered with Spizzico’s Italian fare.

The pizza dough is made daily at Spizzico and all ingredients are sourced for quality.

ALL IN THE FAMILY: Rochelle and Rocco Spizzirri show off a signature Spizzico pizza. Rochelle is learning the family business from top to bottom. to a calzone, the pizza roll features a gently folded soft crust encapsulating an array of popular pizza toppings.

“We are definitely known for our pizza,” said Spizzirri proudly. “But people are always surprised by our ribs. People don’t expect them to be as good as they are, but we learned our recipe from a real southern chef.”

Ribs are not the only Spizzico surprise -- Senor Jefe came about because Spizzirri and his brothers wanted customers to be able to satisfy dual cravings in one location.

“We wanted people to be able to get a pizza and a burrito at the same time,” laughed Spizzirri. “And thanks to that idea we have been combining Italian and Mexican favorites on one ticket.”

Graciela Rodriguez and Valente Gracia have worked in the Spizzico kitchens for 16 years and have been churning out Mexican favorites like hand-made pork tamales, fajitas and flautas since Senor Jefe opened nearly six years ago. The model makes it simple to have tacos with your next pizza.

Spizzirri is especially pleased that catering gigs and volume sales have been steadily growing for the food-focused business.

Spizzico and Senor Jefe have the capacity to handle everything from intimate dinner parties to events catering to thousands of guests at local schools, hospitals and festivals.

No matter if people are looking for a catered event for hundreds, boxed lunched for students, a bounty of burritos or a single bowl of pasta, Spizzirri is eager to treat every customer like family and wants people to know Spizzico endures on North Avenue because of their supportive community and loyal customers.

“The support we get from the Village of Elmwood Park is just outstanding,” said Spizzirri. “Basically, our local government will bend over backwards to help restaurants succeed. That means everything to us.”

That community support is priceless to Spizzirri and his family as they persevere in hopes of leaving the Spizzico legacy, sauce and all, for the next generation.

All photos Melissa Elsmo

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Breadsticks and a Caesar salad from Spizzico Pizza and Pasta in Elmwood Park

Garlic breadcrumbs and a squeeze of lemon are essential additions to Spizzico’s baked clams.

Graciela Rodriguez (left) and Valente Gracia flank Rocco Spizzirri in the kitchen at Spizzico/Senor Jefe. The cooks bring 16 years of experience to the Elmwood Park restaurant.

Discover more culinary delights at OakPark.com

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V I E W P O I N T S

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Do your part for overdose prevention

A record number of 93,000 Americans died from overdose in 2020. That startling number is up a whopping 29% from 2019.

That is why this year, National Overdose Prevention Day is ever more important. On Aug. 31, the Way Back Inn partnered with the Oak Park Opioid Task Force and the Westside Heroin Task Force along with RALI Illinois to host a candlelight vigil to honor the lives of those lost to drug overdose.

We were excited to be able to provide a space where people can connect over shared experiences and work to educate our communities on the warning signs on

drug abuse. Our event will took place in the afternoon at Scoville Park.

Education and community are the two key tenets of addiction recovery. Here at the Way Back Inn, we create a personalized healing environment that promotes the restoration of personal relationships. We strive to be a resource in the community for addiction recovery support and education.

The Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative (RALI) of Illinois is one of our key partner organizations that help to educate our local community on drug misuse warning signs and the tools available to support

His good name

those in need. Together, we work to address the opioid crisis here in Illinois by providing meaningful solutions to preventing and treating addiction.

Take the time this year for National Overdose Prevention Day to check in on your loved ones and see what you can do to help stop the opioid crisis. Visit www.RALI-IL. org for more information on safe medicine use and disposal. If you are concerned about yourself or a loved one, the Way Back Inn and RALI Illinois are here to help.

Block Party of the Week!

Anita Pindiur

Congratulations to Oak Park Police Sgt. Rasul Freelain for finally achieving his 10-year goal: the return of his good name.

Pat Healey Oak Park

RASUL FREELAIN

Maywood

Human infrastructure must follow

Yesterday’s physical infrastructure is a start; human infrastructure must follow.

The story goes that three workers in a remote Third World village had a job moving heavy loads. Two of them would lift a load onto the back of the third, who staggered away under the weight. The boss saw they needed a better way. He gave them a wagon to move the loads. “This will make the job much easier,” he told them as he left. When he checked on them later in the day, he saw two lifting the wagon, with as heavy a load as before, onto the third man’s back. They hadn’t been taught, so they simply didn’t know it could be rolled.

Factual or not, there’s a lesson here for Congress. Building physical infrastructure, without equipping people to use it, is just as ignorant. One example: A nationwide broadband expansion is hobbled if people aren’t trained to make robust use of it. “If we build it, they will come” is a pipedream if technology workers aren’t available when construction workers finish their job.

That’s just common sense.

Fred Reklau Oak Park

Send letters Our thanks to the neighbors from the 200 block of Linden/Euclid Want to get your September block party in the pages of Wednesday Journal? Contact Jill at 708-613-3340 or jill@oakpark.com. Keep in mind, we can only go to one party per week, so reserve your spot today.

Ken Trainor, Wednesday Journal 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 E-mail: ktrainor@wjinc.com Please include name, address and daytime phone number for verification.

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Mandates and moral inconsistencies

astor Walter Mitty was feeling upbeat as he walked into the Main Café last Saturday morning. It was the first time the men’s fellowship breakfast group was meeting in a year and a half. Everyone had been vaccinated, and they all felt the risk was low enough to get together in person.

When he saw Alice, he felt like greeting her cheerfully. “Hi Alice,” he said with a smile. “Long time, no see.”

“Don’t look at me with that smug smile,” was her response.

“But, but …”

“I bet you feel like saying, I told you so, right?”

“No, I meant …

“Yeah, yeah, you see I’m wearing a mask.

The boss made all of us on the staff wear them. I thought he was on our side, but he is turning out to one of those closet liberals who loves to tell working people what to do.”

“But Alice, he’s trying to protect you and the customers. He’s …

Sarge from the army surplus store swiveled around on his stool at the counter.

“What you liberals don’t understand is that Pritzker loves to tell us what to do, but it’s our bodies and we have a right to do or not do with our bodies what we want.

If we don’t want to wear a mask or get

vaccinated, we’re not hurting anyone else. He loves imposing mandates.”

“Ouch,” thought Mitty, feeling his good mood evaporate.

When he arrived at the big table in the back of the dining room, he was greeted with looks of concern from the guys who had already gathered. “You look like a bus just hit you,” said Asch. Everyone at the table nodded.

After Mitty explained what had happened, Eric Anderson expressed his sympathy, “Affects no one else — 617,000 deaths in the last year and a half is ‘hurting no one else?’ And infections are spiking in the states with the lowest vaccination rates!”

Dominique nodded in agreement with Eric, but added, “I agree with you guys that Alice and Sarge are smoking something when they say only their body is affected.”

Everyone around the table waited for him to finish his thought.

“But when I made the mistake of saying that I tend to be pro-life at the coffee hour a few weeks ago, do you remember how Sharissa jumped all over me?”

“She got angry,” Eric recalled, “and said you had no right to tell her what to

Remembering Sept. 11

After experiencing the devastating events of Sept. 11, 2001, Roosevelt Middle School art teacher Sally McPartlin knew that her fifth-grade students would be facing many thoughts and emotions indescribable by words alone. So during her class that week, she encouraged her students to create these art collages. Knowing the rich story they tell and the history they captured that day, McPartlin kept these art pieces until 2018 when she donated them to the Oak Park River Forest Museum.

For those young students on the unforgettable day 20 years ago, it became a “once-in-a-generation” moment.

For America, the thoughts, emotions, and actions that followed were momentous — from search-and-rescues to a declaration of war. Now as the U.S. declares the end of the war that began 20 years ago, we continue to witness the impact of issues that arose from the ashes on 9/11.

The simple words shared on these collages speak volumes for what was felt not just by River Forest’s fifthgraders but by the nation on Sept. 11: “tragedy,” “anger,” and “for what reason?” But also, “where there is terror, we stand together,” “stay strong,” and “united we stand.”

These art pieces are on display now through September at Oak Park River Forest Museum, 129 Lake St. in Oak Park. Open Wed.-Sat., 1-5pm. More info at oprfmuseum.org.

Rachel Berlinski

Operations manager Oak Park River Forest Museum

do with her body. She said you can believe what you want, but the government has no right to tell me what to do when it’s my body that is involved.”

And Asch added, “She argued it’s her decision and no one else is being hurt. Roe v. Wade confirmed that the government is out of line with mandates against abortion.”

Dominique took a deep breath and said, “No one else — 800,000 lives ended last year by abortion is no one else?”

But Mitty decided to push back a little if nothing else than for the sake of defending Sharissa who wasn’t there to speak for herself. “I think Sharissa would say that she is against abortions after the first trimester or when the fetus is viable.”

“That argument used to make sense to me, Pastor,” Dominique began, “but the more I thought about it, I decided to look into what the definition of life is.”

“And?” Asch asked.

“Well,” Dominique began, “Merriam Webster defined life as the state characterized by the ability to get and use energy, reproduce, grow, and respond to change.”

“So you are saying that even an embryo

TOM HOLMES

I

uses energy and has the potential to grow and change?” asked Mitty.

“Right,” Dominique said, “but it certainly doesn’t have the capacity to reproduce.”

He laughed adding, “But neither does my mother.”

Asch rolled his eyes and said, “Dorothy and I know where you’re coming from.”

Dominique continued, “A newborn doesn’t have the capacity to reproduce either, not for 10 years or so.”

“But everyone would agree they are human lives,” Mitty said, checking to see if he understood his council president.

Pastor Mitty felt confused as he walked home from the Main. He was more convinced that human life has to be understood as a process. That even though during the first trimester the fetus looks more like a reptile than a human. Still, the question arises, what should he do about that recognition? And more important, what should the government do?

People seem to love government mandates, he decided, when it’s their values the government is imposing.

That night as he poured a Bailey’s over ice for himself he said to himself, “I’m glad I’m not preaching on the subject tomorrow … but should I?” Tom Holmes writes a column for our sister publication, the Forest Park Review.

My successful summer is now almost gone

can’t believe that summer has come and is almost gone! For once in my life, procrastination was not my first name. I am proud I actually accomplished some of the multitude of tasks that were on my to-do list. Especially when it came to my second-story deck.

I have been dreaming of a hanging chair.

And when I found one I fell in love with, I was willing to drive to Madison, Wisconsin to get it. Because I found it on Facebook marketplace, I would send the seller a text every hour on the hour letting her know of my progress.

Nothing is worse than getting somewhere that far out and have somebody tell you they sold it to someone else. Especially because it’s such a long drive.

I also spent a ton of time out on my deck this year. I spent more time outdoors on it this year than I did in the 20 years prior. I even bought a waterfall. I have always professed that the sound of waterfalls reminded me of running toilets, but I actually like the one I got. And it has been soothing to my soul.

I did get my garden planted. Best of all, I actually have a watermelon that grew and is almost ready to cut. I can’t wait to try it.

My ongoing battle with the rats who were trying to live under my garage seems to have me winning. The metal grating I purchased was supposed to be used to protect a tree. But it is lightweight enough for me to be able to cut it with decent scissors. And the rats cannot chew through it. So between laying it along the side of my garage and putting it inside the alley rat hole I found, I

think I have won the battle. The war will be another story!

I did manage to paint my front security door. There’s nothing worse than a steel door that is allowed to rust and deteriorate. That thing cost a small fortune when I bought it 20 years ago. I should have done it last year, but I did the basement door and the back door. So the front door had to get done. I used an angle grinder to take off the loose paint, and then spray-painted the decorative wrought-iron work. I’ll finish up by using a can of paint, applying it with a brush. That thick coating should last at least another five years.

I put a bunch of decorations out on the siding to my deck. There are special clips that basically fit in between the siding so that you don’t have to put a hole in it. I’ve already declared that I don’t want to spend more than two hours closing my deck down for the winter. I’m actually going to use a timer when I start because in my mind I pre-thought everything I need to bubble-wrap and store. The majority of things can then stay outdoors in a couple of outdoor bins. Anything that I think might get damaged by the cold, I will bring indoors.

I hope your summer was as marvelous as mine was.

I cannot focus on all the shootings because it is just so depressing. So I have to do all I can to practice normalcy for my mental health.

Arlene Jones, who lives in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, writes a weekly column for our sister publication, the Austin Weekly News.

ARLENE JONES

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Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

SIECK

Lives well lived from page 23 ago, who was something more than a chimpanzee, some 110 billion human beings have come before us, written their stories, stories now beyond revision, with both bookends firmly in place. These human stories line the endless rows of shelves in a mythical library that hardly anyone ever visits, covered in the ever-accumulating dust of our past. Too busy to visit any stories in the mythical library and too busy to worry about much more than

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM today, we live in the moment, a race of existentialists, obsessed with filling our limited time and oblivious to our place in it.

Why is this? When our grandkids have to show us how to operate the newest electronic device, do we really expect them to seek our life advice? Are we even remotely able to fathom the complexities of their future new world? When we were hunter-gatherers — which means for almost 99% of our entire history as a human race — every generation both learned and taught exactly the same thing. Skills needed to survive were essential, and those skills did not change. Today, the accelerating pace of change has made most of what lies between those permanent bookends irrelevant and what lies in the

future imponderable. So we live in and for today, alongside that enormous library hardly anyone ever visits. And thus the truism: What we learn from history is that we do not learn from history.

Born 9-11-1917. Died 12-24-1998.

A few days before my father died, he looked at me and said, “You know, the world is going to end soon.” I looked back and said, “Yes, Dad, for you it is.” When he was only 1 year old, his father died in the Spanish flu epidemic. Raised by a single mom and his uncles, he vowed his children would not be as alone as he was. So he had 12. Mission accomplished. One kind of immortality.

The Iroquois were asked to wear seven skins — one for each generation for which

HESTER

River Forest

Seeking substantial change

FOOT CLINIC

from page 23

7351 Lake St. (Just west of Panera Bread)

Do you have diabetes?

I

f you do, you should know how important foot care is. Over time, diabetics risk developing foot complications. When the nerves are damaged from chronic high blood sugar, feet can become numb or painful with burning or tingling. This is called diabetic neuropathy. When diabetes affects the arteries, circulation to the legs and feet may be compromised. Either of these conditions may lead to serious problems including ulceration, even amputation.

The key to prevention is early diagnosis of diabetes, and regular foot exams from a podiatrist. Diabetics who receive regular foot care, including paring of calluses and debridement of thick fungal toenails, are almost four times less likely to undergo an

they were responsible. My father wore three — his parents, his own, and his children.

How many skins are we willing to wear?

How many generations are we willing to protect? How many visits are we willing to make to that mythical library?

Here’s a suggestion: Next week, let’s each find someone older than us and ask them: “If you had one piece of advice to give on how to live a meaningful, memorable life, what would it be?” Then find someone younger and ask them: “What do you see as the greatest challenge you are facing for your future life?” Connections made. Library open for business.

Feel free to share what you hear: fuel for another essay (billsieck@gmail.com).

Dr. Linda Lambert

amputation than those who do not seek treatment.

Medicare and some private insurances cover 1 pair of diabetic shoes and 3 pair of protective insoles each calendar year. Dr. Lambert has been a supplier of diabetic shoes since 2002. The shoes come in 30 different styles each for men and women.

These include boots, lightweight colorful athletic shoes, and dress shoes. Even patients who are not diabetic love the look and comfort of the footwear. Diabetic socks, slippers and compression hosiery are also available.

Protecting your feet with appropriate footgear is an important aspect of preventive care for diabetics.

Aetna, AARP, Blue Cross PPO, United Healthcare, Healthspring, Humana, PHCS, Medicare Assignment & most other insurances accepted • CIGNA PPO

26 Years’ Experience • Se Habla Espanol • Free Parking

708.366.FOOT (3668)

handle the group of people who are simultaneously at the most risk and most adamantly against doing the one thing that will protect them: getting vaccinated.

In a situation where our own safety relies on the actions and decisions of others but on which people are so greatly divided, where is the end? What is the answer?

This spring, my friends and I will be graduating from college and entering a world where these issues and many more will be ours to deal with. In reflecting on what that world will look like and the role of my generation in dealing with it, I feared that I would sound entirely pessimistic. I think I kind of did. But I also think that is OK. The issues currently facing our country are heavy topics that many of us carry with us daily. They are not things that can be wrapped up neatly and spun positively at all times.

However, I am also confident that my generation will not lie down at the feet of these issues and let them continue without putting up a fight. I have had conversations with friends with really ambitious aims for changing the world in all types of different ways, and I am completely confident that they will achieve those goals. I have witnessed campus groups organize student workers and call for divestment from fossil fuels. I have been educated by so many fellow students, both in and out of the classroom, about how to make progress with my own thinking and expanding my viewpoints. When we put our heads together, it seems we can make headway toward finding some of those solutions that often feel so obscure.

In my first column this summer, I wrote about deliberately trusting in my ability to do hard things. Now in my last, I am reminded of the same idea. Before my generation can deal with these issues, we have to acknowledge their difficulty.

Then we have to trust in our ability to cause substantial change.

Mary Hester recently completed a summer internship with Wednesday Journal. She is now back for her senior year at Kenyon College.

Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

O

31

Partisanship and democracy’s broken branches

ur democracy was brilliantly planned for cooperation and checks and balances between the three branches of our government. Each was proposed to have equal authority. Today our legislative branch has been broken by partisan Republican leaders who selfishly have chosen to follow, sheep-like, the lying, power-seeking, greedy Trump in his plan to control the vote! To remain in office at all costs is their mantra.

Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on an updated version of the John Lewis Voting Rights Bill. It would re-confirm and bolster our Constitution’s 15th Amendment which reads as follows: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

Shamefully, none of the Republicans, steeped in their partisan, monolithic view, voted to approve this bill. In striking contrast, in 2006, a similar bill confirming the Constitutional Amendment passed both houses of Congress unanimously! Our Republican and Democratic

leaders once had a respectful relationship with one another.

Reasonable action, discussion and disagreements, could be resolved favorably. From time to time over the years, restrictive voting bills were proposed, especially in the southern states. Fortunately, none were adopted. This has now devolved into partisan, disrespectful attitudes and behaviors.

Unfortunately, even the Supreme Court has become partisan as another branch of government has now been corrupted. In 2013, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts proposed eliminating the unanimously confirmed 2006 voting rights bill. He claimed that the southern states were now well integrated and that there was only minimal discrimination and racism. Therefore, he proffered that there was no need for this bill, which regulates how individual states run their elections.

The justices evidently considered this proposal reasonable, and readily confirmed Justice Robert’s recommendation, which opened the door for states to

begin establishing regulations restricting access and voting based on thinly disguised racism.

As more partisan Republicans were appointed to the court, more and more of the restrictive voting rights bills have been allowed to stand.

It is estimated that there are now more than 200 existing and proposed restrictive bills in 30 of the various states. The Supreme Court recently added to this problem by its recent approval of Arizona’s antivoting rights bill.

It is difficult for me to accept that our constitutionally proscribed “representative leadership” is now willing to sacrifice our democracy for selfish gain regarding these voting rights bills and most, if not all, of the pressing issues of the day. Is there no regard for truth by these partisan Republicans? Do none of them have independent views, or will they continue under the influence of exPresident Trump?

Where is their self-esteem? Are they willing to be classified as bigots or white supremacists who refuse to vote for voter

HARRIET HAUSMAN One View

rights? How can these Republican congressmen and -women rationalize this, especially in light of all having taken the oath to preserve and protect the Constitution?

My Republican friends have no answers about this for me, and most are ashamed of their partisan party leadership. They have admitted to me that some of their partisan Republican friends have expressed fear of the “browning of America,” and their desire to keep nonwhites as second class citizens.

Is it possible to eliminate this intense partisanship? Is there a way to move entrenched folks away from their respective corners and toward one another, with mutual respect and civil discourse?

When will I again be proud of the once strong, conservative, and independentthinking Republicans? How can these partisan Republicans be convinced to represent our diverse population and rebuild the three equal branches of the tree of Democracy? When can we say, “We, the People,” and have it include all of us, celebrating our differences and agreements in an honest and civil society?

Harriet Hausman is a longtime River Forest resident and proud member of the ACLU.

e h t e v e a t S a D

oprfchamber.org

October 12, 2021 | 5-7 PM

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Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

O B I T U A R I E S

Roy Hlavacek, 83

Co-founder, Hemingway Foundation Roy George Hlavacek, 83, of Oak Park, died peacefully at home, on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021.

Born on Sept. 17, 1937, he graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1960 with a degree in mechanical engineering and earned an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1969. He dedicated his career to the commercial food industry, having been a project engineer at Swift, publisher at Putnam Publishing and Delta Communications, and later a communications executive at the Institute of Food Technologists.

Passionate about philanthropy, he maintained a decades-long commitment to Oak Park for over 50 years. He helped establish a commission in Oak Park to support the preservation of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture in the village and was a founding member of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park.

Roy was the husband of Nancy Hlavacek (nee Wroblaski); father of Carrie (Dustin) Felix, and Alex (Karen) Hlavacek; and grandfather of Hanna Hlavacek. He was the son of George and Lillian Hlavacek, brother of George, and friend to many.

Services were held on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021, followed by private interment. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts to the Parkinson’s Foundation, www.parkinson.org, are appreciated.

Arrangements were handled by Conboy-Westchester Funeral Home.

Allen Moreno, 91 Korean War veteran

Allen D. Moreno, 91, of Elmwood Park, died on Aug. 9, 2021. Born on Feb. 4, 1930, he was a veteran of the U.S. Army in Korea.

Allen was the husband of the late Nancy;

father of Mark (Peggy) Moreno and Jill (Michael) McReynolds; grandfather of Kari (Isaac) Olsen, Michelle (Mike) Walton and Sarah Moreno, and Nicole McReynolds; greatgrandfather of Tya, Dax, and Landon; brother of the late Marlene (William) McLaughlin; and uncle and great-uncle of many.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 11 at Christ Episcopal Church, 515 Franklin Ave., River Forest, IL, 60305.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to Christ Episcopal Church are appreciated.

Arrangements were handled by Drechsler, Brown & Williams Funeral Home.

Carl Waltenbaugh, 73 Professor, Feinberg School of Medicine

Carl R. Waltenbaugh, 73, of Oak Park, died peacefully at home on Aug. 28, 2021. Born in Canton, Ohio on July 17, 1948 to Carl R. And Vivian O. (Rankin) Waltenbaugh, he married Karen (Jenkins) on April 14, 1973 in Bradley, Illinois. A graduate of Hoover High School (Class of 1966), he attended Mount Union College and graduated from Baldwin Wallace College in Ohio before graduating with a master’s degree from the University of Illinois in 1973 and PhD in 1975. He completed a post-doctorate at Harvard University in 1979 and spent the remainder of his career as a professor at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University until his retirement in 2016. He was also an avid woodworker, hobby genealogist and self-proclaimed sommelier.

Carl is survived by his wife, Karen and his children: Gretchen (Pinkerton) and her husband Justin, Heidi (Parker) and her husband Alyx, Karl and his wife, Amanda. He also leaves behind his sister, Susan (Haines), and his grandchildren, Eve, Zoe, Elliot, Jovi, Henry, Wren and Johan, as well as his beloved cats, Addison and Willson. He was preceded in death by his parents.

In lieu of a visitation/funeral, Carl would inform you that science is real, life is too short to drink bad wine, and Nanu Nanu.

Arrangements were handled by Drechsler, Brown & Williams Funeral Home.

g n a H e r e in th k r a P k a O

Michael Kelly, 52

Professor, Loyola School of Social Work Michael Stokely Kelly, 52, professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work, died on September 2, 2021. Born on Oct. 25, 1968 in Chicago, he moved to Oak Park at age 4, where he attended Hawthorne and Holmes. At Oak Park and River Forest High School, he wrote for the newspaper, acted in several plays, and served as junior class president. The highlight of his high school years was directing Bleacher Bums in the Little Theater, casting several students who had never acted before.

He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1991 and later earned his Master in Social Work degree at the University of Illinois Chicago. He was a family therapist, a youth minister at St. Giles Family Mass, and served for 14 years as a school social worker, first at Indian Trail Middle School in Addison, and later Mann and Lincoln elementary schools in Oak Park.

He earned his PhD in Social Work from the University of Illinois Chicago in 2006 and joined the faculty at Loyola. He authored or edited several books, one of which was recently translated into Japanese, and published over 100 articles in his field. A fellow of the Oxford University Symposium for SchoolBased Family Counseling, he edited the School Mental Health Journal and the International Journal of School Social Work. In 2020, he was named the Lucian Welch and Carol Matusak Endowed Chair at Loyola University. A muchloved teacher, he mentored hundreds of school social workers across the U.S. and Canada.

An avid runner, he completed 18 marathons, including in Chicago, Rome, and Ireland.

Michael is survived by his wife, Lucy Fox; their three sons, Benjamin, Isaac and Alfred; his mother, Karen Kelly; his brother-in-law, Daniel (Susan) Fox; his in-laws, Win and Alan Fox; and countless relatives and friends. His father, Richard Kelly, died in 2010.

A memorial service will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the American Foundation for the Prevention of Suicide (afsp.org).

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Growing Community Media

33

HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI Deadline is Monday at 5:00 p.m.

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 | BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 BY E-MAIL: EMAIL@GROWINGCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

HELP WANTED River Forest Public Schools District 90

District 90 is seeking qualified and experienced applicants for the following positions:

• English Language Learner Teacher (Lincoln Elementary School) • Physical Education Part-time Teacher (Lincoln Elementary School) For detailed qualifications requirements and job duties, please visit our website at www.district90.org/about/employment for our complete list of employment opportunities.

General Qualifications: Valid Illinois Professional Education License with endorsement in field of study, a Master’s Degree is preferred and successful teaching experience with students in a classroom setting is preferred.

General Duties: Provide excellence in education by developing and implementing activities that encourage students to be life-long learners. Possesses knowledge of District policies and regulations relating to areas of responsibilities. Create an environment that is conducive to learning and appropriate to the developmental maturity and interests of each student.

Application: Apply online at www.district90.org. Application Procedure: Interested candidates should complete the online application available at district90.org. Please do not send hard copies of supporting documentation, i.e. cover letters, resumes, licensure, etc. to River Forest Schools District 90; instead, upload these materials onto the online job application system for proper processing.

PART TIME DRIVER ASAP

Local company looking for part time driver/warehouse. Must be drug free & have valid IL DL. Must be able to lift 75lb. $13/hr Email resume to HR@SIEVERTELECTRIC.COM

PAID-ON-CALL FIREFIGHTER Job Title: Paid-on-Call Firefighter Description: The Village of Riverside Fire Department is seeking applicants for the position of Paidon-Call Firefighter.

Additional Status Information: This is not a full-time position.

Qualifications: - In good physical condition - Reside within 1.5 miles of the boundaries of the Village of Riverside at time of appointment - Be 18 years of age at the time of application - Possess a high school diploma or GED - Possess a valid driver’s license with a good driving record Miscellaneous Applications are reviewed in October 2021.

Application deadline is Friday, October 8th, 2021.

The Village of Riverside is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

BUDGET & REVENUE ANALYST

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Budget and Revenue Analyst in the Finance Department. This position will Serve the public with professional administrative and analytical duties in the areas of budget preparation, purchasing, payroll, data analysis and process improvement. Provides, prepares and maintains records, and financial and statistical reports and analysis which assist in the Village’s ability to improve business processes and gain efficiencies through better use of technology. Budget duties include assisting in the development, analysis and application of performance measures with regard to Village services and resources; preparing, modifying, tracking and monitoring Village expenses and transfers; grants, and conducting budget-related research and analysis. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www.oak-park.us/jobs.

Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application. First review of applications August 27, 2021.

PART TIME HELP WANTED

SPOTLESS CARWASH at 7343 Roosevelt and 7802 Madison St in Forest Park is in need of an attendant. We are looking for someone who likes to be outside and is friendly and likes people.

The duties are to meet and greet customers, make change, sell tokens, automatic and self serve wash instructions, keep the lot, equipment room, and perimeter clean, and empty garbage cans.

Pay is $11.00 per hour. The hours an attendant is on duty are 9 – 11 and 12 – 5 on weekdays, 9 – 11:30 and 12 – 4 on Saturday and Sunday. If you can fit any of these hours on a part time basis we can work with you.

Please come to 7343 Roosevelt Rd. in Forest Park to pick up anapplication. 708-771-2945.

Thank you

URBAN FORESTRY

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Urban Forestry Technician I in the Public Works Department. This position will perform routine tasks including basic tree and shrub pruning and removal, setting up and maintaining a safe work zone and basic forestry ground work including bucking logs and chipping brush. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www. oak-park.us/jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application.

First review of applications will be September 14, 2021.



  

HIRING BONUS! HEPHZIBAH DAY CARE PROGRAM SITE SUPERVISOR

Hephzibah Children’s Association offers after school day care on site at each of the Oak Park elementary schools.

The Day Care Program is accepting applications for a Site Supervisor for the 2021-2022 school year to provide supervision to childcare staff as well as care and supervision of 5-11-year-old children.

Regular days and hours are Monday through Friday from 2:30 - 6:00 PM, Wednesday 1:30 – 6:00 PM. Additional hours on school closing days, in coordination with the school district calendar. May work other hours during school holidays and for staff meetings.

Associate degree in child development or early childhood education, or the equivalent in child development or education desired. Previous experience working with children required.

Program starts mid-August and runs through the school year.

Additional hours for staff meetings and on school closing days in coordination with the school district calendar.

Contact MJ Joyce at: mjjoyce@hephzibahhome.org Equal Opportunity Employer We are an inclusive employer and welcome people from all backgrounds to apply

HIRING BONUS!

Part Time Positions Available for 2021-22 school year

AFTER-SCHOOL RECREATION / DAY CARE WORKER YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST ON SITE AT OAK PARK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The Day Care Program of Hephzibah Children’s Association is accepting applications for nurturing individuals to provide care and supervision of 5-11-year-old children in the After School Day Care program on site at Oak Park public schools.

The days and hours are Mon – Fri from 2:30-6:00 PM and 2:00-6:00 PM on Wednesdays.

Plan and supervise arts and crafts, indoor & outdoor play, games, sports, homework help and more.

Requirements include: -previous experience working with children -6 semester hours in education, recreation, social work or related college courses desired

CROSSING GUARD

The Forest Park Police Department is seeking qualified individuals for the position of Crossing Guard.

This position requires flexible hours during days when schools are in session. A background investigation and drug screening will be conducted prior to consideration for the position. Applications available at Village Hall, 517 Desplaines Avenue or on-line at www.forestpark.net and should be returned to Vanessa Moritz, HR Director, at Village Hall.

For additional information, contact Dora Murphy at 708-615-6223 or write dmurphy@forestpark.net.

Applications accepted until position is filled. EOE.

Starting a New Business?

Publish Your Assumed Name Legal Notice in • Austin Weekly News • Wednesday Journal • Forest Park Review • Riverside/Brookfield Landmark

Call the Experts Before You Place Your Legal Ad! Call Mary Ellen for details: 773/626-6332

Program starts mid-August and runs through the 2021-22 school year.

Contact MJ Joyce at mjjoyce@hephzibahhome.org Equal Opportunity Employer We are an inclusive employer and welcome people from all backgrounds to apply

Find Marketplace listings on the next page!

In print • Online • Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year OakPark.com | AustinWeeklyNews.com | RBLandmark.com | ForestParkReview.com | PublicNoticeIllinois.com

34

Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

CLASSIFIED

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 BY E-MAIL: EMAIL@GROWINGCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG

MARKETPLACE GARAGE/YARD SALES Riverside

HUGE MOVING SALE 355 N DELAPLAINE RD SAT 9/11 8AM TO 4PM SUN 9/12 8AM TO 1PM

DOWNSIZING! Tools, toys, vintage rock LPs, gaming systems, furniture, and much more! PRICED TO MOVE! Oak Park

GARAGE SALE 930 N KENILWORTH (ALLEY SIDE) SAT 9/11 8AM TO 2PM

Toys, books, sports equipment and household items

AUTOS FOR SALE

ITEMS FOR SALE

R E N TA L S & R E A L E S TAT E CARS WANTED

SUBURBAN RENTALS

PIANO FOR SALE

Chickering 1938 grand piano, 5’4”.

Good condition. Refurbished and restrung in the past. Buyer must move.

Reasonable at $1000.

BERWYN: 2 BR

WANTED MILITARY ITEMS: Helmets, medals, patches, uniforms, weapons, flags, photos, paperwork, Also toy soldiers – lead, plastic – other misc. toys.

Call Uncle Gary 708-522-3400

Apartment listings updated daily at:

Gorgeous Apt w/ granite kitchen countr top. All appls. HT/WTR inc.

Security cams. $1200 + $1500 sec.

Close to Shpng Mall

Call 312-339-2370

WANTED TO BUY

SUBURBAN RENTALS

708-699-8916

CLASSICS WANTED CLASSICS Restored or Restored or Unrestored Unrestored Cars Motorcycles Cars & & Vintage Vintage Motorcycles Domestic / Import Import Cars: Cars:

Mercedes, Corvette, Mercedes,Porsche, Porsche, Corvette, Ferrari’s, MuscleCars, Cars, Ferrari’s,Jaguars, Jaguars, Muscle Mustang && Mopars Mopars Mustang $$ Top $$ all makes, $$ Top $$ all makes,Etc. Etc.

1994 CADILLAC FLEETWOOD

Full power, very low miles. Garage kept. Needs minor repair. Minor rust.

5.7L 350. Must sell. $3850 obo.

Collector James Collector James 630-201-8122 630-201-8122

Call or text 708-606-6640

BERWYN DELUXE 5 RMS

Deluxe 5 RMS, 2 BDRMS, close to train and hospital. Includes heat, water, all appliances, laundry facility, parking. Just painted, new blinds. $1200/mo. Sec. dep. 1 mo. Credit Check.

BROKER

708-347-2500

APARTMENT FOR RENT AUSTIN/OAK PARK 3BR

Austin/Oak Park: Bright and spacious, 3-bedroom apartment w/ huge living room and dining room, appliances included. Rent $1175.00 plus utilities. Close to transportation and parks.

Call 312-852-2814

Find your new apartment this Saturday from 10 am – 4pm at 35 Chicago Avenue.

Or call us toll free at 1-833-440-0665 for an appointment.

STUDIOS, 1, 2 & 3 BR Best Selection & Service

708-386-7355

CLASSICS WANTED

CEMENT

Restored or Unrestored HOME SERVICES Cars & Vintage Motorcycles FLOORS CEMENT Domestic / ImportHAULING Cars:

MAGANA

C O N C R E T E C O N S T RU C T I O N “QUALITY IS OUR FOUNDATION” ESTABLISHED IN 1987

COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL RESIDENTIAL

708.442.7720 '5,9(:$<6 )281'$7,216 3$7,26 67(36 &85% *877(56 6,'(:$/.6 612: 3/2:,1* 67$03(' &2/25(' $**5(*$7( &21&5(7( FREE ESTIMATES LICENSED, BONDED & INSURED

ELECTRICAL Ceiling Fans Installed

ELECTRICAL

A&A ELECTRIC

Let an American Veteran do your work

We install plugs for battery-operated vehicles We fix any electrical problem and do small jobs We install Surge Protectors • Home Re-wiring • New Plugs & Switches Added • New circuit breaker boxes • Code violations corrected Service upgrades,100-200 amp • Garage & A/C lines installed Fast Emergency Service | Residential • Commercial • Industrial Free Home Evaluations | Lic. • Bonded • Ins. • Low Rates • Free Est.

KLIS FLOORING INC.

BASEMENT CLEANING

Appliances & Furniture Removal Mercedes, Porsche, Corvette, Pickup & Delivery.

708-848-9404 Ferrari’s, Jaguars, Muscle Cars, Mustang & Mopars

New hardwood flooring installation & pergo. Sanding, re-finishing, staining. Low prices, insured.

Call: 773-671-4996 www.klisflooring.com

LANDSCAPING $$ Top $$ all makes, Etc. HANDYMAN

BRUCE LAWN SERVICE

Collector Spring Clean-Up Mike’s Home Repair James

Aerating, Slit Seeding 630-201-8122 Bush Trimming,

Drywall H Painting H Tile Plumbing H Electric H Floors Windows H Doors H Siding Ask Us What We Don’t Do

708-296-2060

CURT'S HANDYMAN SERVICE Drywall Repair • Painting Fans Installed • Carpentry Trim Gutter Cleaning • Window Repair

FREE ESTIMATES Excellent References No Job Too Small

708-488-9411

HANDYMAN Roofing Repairs Concrete Repairs • Drywall All types of handiwork Call For Free Estimates

773-637-0692

708-409-0988 • 708-738-3848 Sr. Discounts • 30 Yrs. Exp. Servicing Oak Park • All surrounding suburbs • Chicago area

YOUR WEEKLY AD

Ask for John

Lawn Maintenance brucelawns.com

708-243-0571

NEIGHBORHOOD CLEAN UP

Evergreen trimming & more. Clean-ups.

Garden weed removal.

Storm Branch Tree Removal.

OAK PARK & FOREST PARK

MMpropMgmt.com

PLASTERING McNulty Plastering & Stucco Co.

Small & big work. Free estimates.

Complete Plaster, Stucco & Re-Coating Services

708/386-2951 • ANYTIME Work Guaranteed

Licensed, Bonded, Insured, & EPA Certified Expert craftsmanship for over 50 years

PLUMBING

Supreme Plumbing & Sewer Services Installation of kitchens, bathrooms, sinks, showers Sewer Systems

AUSTIN RENAISSANCE APARTMENTS

A HUD subsidized affordable Apartment property announces the opening of its waiting list for both One and Two Bedroom Apartments! Resident rent is approximately 30% of gross household income, some restrictions apply. Our property is located on Washington Blvd in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.

Apartments offered with an occupancy of one to four persons. Properties feature modern kitchens, include appliances, and offer onsite maintenance. Austin Renaissance will accept requests for application packages by U.S. Mail postmarked no later than , September 15, 2021. Send or email a written request for an application package that includes your name, mailing address. Daytime telephone number, Email address, and the number of persons in your household to: Town Center Realty Group LLC, PO Box 64, Huntley IL 60142-0064 or Email requests to mrpaul.tcrg@gmail.com Application packages available by mail or email delivery only. No walk-ins accepted.

Town Center Realty Group LLC

Piping & re-piping Clogged drains Water heaters

100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Quality workmanship & service 20+ years’ experience • Locally owned & operated

Free Estimates!

CITY RENTALS

708-955-7844

1850 S. 61st St #106 Cicero, IL 60632

johnlavin530@gmail.com License #PR-1234

708-447-1762

PAINTING & DECORATING

ROOMS FOR RENT Large Sunny Room with fridge, microwave.

Near Green line, bus, Oak Park, 24 hour desk, parking lot. $125.00. New Mgmt.

312-212-1212

OFFICE /RETAIL FOR RENT OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT THERAPY OFFICE OAK PARK

Free wifi; flexible leasing, and offices nicely furnished right down to the Kleenex. Secure building & friendly colleagues, often giving referrals to other office mates. Shared Waiting room, Conference room & option to join Peer Supervision Group. Ideal for new practice or 2nd location.

708-383-0729

CLASSIC PAINTING

Fast & Neat Painting/Taping/Plaster Repair Low Cost

708.749.0011

Reach the people making the decisions.

Place an ad in GCM Classified!

Call 773/626-6332

RIVER FOREST–7777 Lake St. * 1116 sq. ft. * 1400 sq. ft. Dental Office RIVER FOREST–7756 Madison St. * 960 sq. ft.

OAK PARK–6142-44 Roosevelt Rd. * 3 & 5 room office suites FOREST PARK–7736 Madison St. *2500 sq. ft. unit Strand & & Browne Strand Browne 708-488-0011 708-488-0011

REACHES SIX SUBURBAN COMMUNITIES: OAK PARK, RIVER FOREST,FOREST PARK, BROOKFIELD, RIVERSIDE, NORTH RIVERSIDE, AND PARTS OF CHICAGO

Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

CLASSIFIED

35

BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 BY E-MAIL: EMAIL@GROWINGCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG

Let the sun shine in...

Public Notice: Your right to know

In print • Online • Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year OakPark.com | PublicNoticeIllinois.com PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

INVITATION FOR BID

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING RIVERSIDE SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 96

PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE

Sealed proposals will be received by the Oak Park Housing Authority at 21 South Blvd., Oak Park, Il, 60302 until 2:00 p. m. local time on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 at which time they will be opened and read. The sealed bids will be received for the following project: Application of water repellent, rust inhibitor and sealant patching on exterior surfaces of precast concrete walls of Mills Park Tower.

Drawings and Project Manual are available at no cost in PDF electronic format from Heitzman Architects, 213 South Euclid Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302, telephone (708) 267-1352, email frank@heitzman.org, or printed drawings and Project Manual may be obtained at the direct cost of reproduction from Imperial Reprographics and Supply, 823 South Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park, Illinois 60304, telephone (708) 848-1030.

Bidders are encouraged to attend the pre bid meeting on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. on the first floor of Mills Park Tower, 1025 Pleasant Place, Oak Park, IL 60302. Bidders having questions or needing further information may call Ken Southward at (708) 386-9322, ext. 134.

Bid Security: Each bid must be accompanied by a bid bond in the amount of 5% of the base bid or a certified check in the same amount payable to the Oak Park Housing Authority. Checks of unsuccessful bidders will be returned as soon as practicable after the opening of the bids.

Performance Bond: The Contractor, before commencing the work, shall furnish a Performance Bond for contracts over $100,000.00.

The Performance Bond shall be in an amount equal to 100% of the full amount of the Contract Sum as security for the faithful performance of the obligations of the Contract Documents. Such Bond shall be issued by a Surety satisfactory to the Owner and shall name the Owner as primary Co-Obligee.

The Oak Park Housing Authority reserves the right to award the contract to its best interests, to reject any or all proposals, to waive informalities in bidding, and to hold the three lowest proposals for a period of sixty (60) days after bid due date.

This project is subject to Federal Regulations including Fair Labor and Prevailing Wages. The Oak Park Housing Authority, in an effort to reaffirm its policy of non-discrimination, encourages the efforts of Contractors and Sub-Contractors to take affirmative action in providing for Equal Employment Opportunity without regard to race, religion, creed, color, sex, national origin, age, protected Veteran status or handicap unrelated to ability to perform the job. The Owner encourages General Contractors to employ minority subcontractors and suppliers.

Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, required distancing and masks will be required.

Ken Southward Director of Housing (708) 386-9322, ext. 134 Published in Wednesday Journal September 8, 2021.

Notice is hereby given by the Board of Education of Riverside School District No. 96, Cook County, Illinois, that a public hearing shall be conducted in accordance with Section 17-2A of the Illinois School Code, 105 ILCS 5/17-2A, on September 15, 2021, beginning at 7 p.m., at 86 Southcote Road, Riverside, Illinois, 60546, to consider authorization of a permanent interfund transfer in the amount of $2,899,857 from the School District’s Transportation Fund to its Operations and Maintenance Fund for the purpose of meeting the ordinary and necessary disbursements for operations and maintenance purposes.

Any person seeking information regarding the public hearing concerning said request may contact the District’s Director of Finance and Operations at (708) 447-5007.

Secretary, Board of Education Riverside School District No. 96, Cook County, Illinois Dated: September 8, 2021 Published in RB Landmark September 8, 2021

PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY. Request of SANDRA ANNE CASTILLO-MEZA Case Number. 2021CONC001308 There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: SANDRA ANNE CASTILLO-MEZA to the new name of: SANDRA MEZA The court date will be held: On November 19, 2021 at 10:30am at VIA ZOOM- Meeting ID: 958 9492 1843/Password: 226532 Cook in Courtroom # 1707 Published in Wednesday Journal September 8, 15, 22, 2021

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY. Request of VICTOR CRISTIAN ENCISO Case Number. 2021CONC001309 There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: VICTOR CRISTIAN ENCISO to the new name of: VICTOR CRISTIAN CASTILLO-MEZA The court date will be held: On December 6, 2021 at 9:00am at VIA ZOOM- Meeting ID: 965 2561 6475/Password: 553663 Cook in Courtroom # 1704 Published in Wednesday Journal September 8, 15, 22, 2021

PUBLIC NOTICE STATE OF ILLINOIS VILLAGE OF BROOKFIELD Notice of Public Hearing Village of Brookfield Planning and Zoning Commission September 23, 2021, at 7:00 PM NOTICE is hereby given that a public hearing will be held by the Planning and Zoning Commission of the Village of Brookfield on Thursday, September 23, 2021, at 7:00 PM in the Edward Barcal Hall located at 8820 Brookfield Avenue, Brookfield, Illinois to consider a special use permit request for a food pantry at the address 9030 Brookfield Avenue.

The public is invited to attend the public hearing and present oral and/ or written comments. Please check the following webpage one week before the meeting for more information: https://brookfieldil.gov/audio-files/ The variance application may be viewed at the Village of Brookfield Village Hall during normal business hours. Written comments may be provided prior to 4:00 PM on the day of the meeting to: Village of Brookfield, Planning and Zoning Commission c/o Kendra Kuehlem, 8820 Brookfield Avenue, Brookfield, IL 60513 and at kkuehlem@brookfieldil.gov.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations in order to participate in any meeting may contact the Village of Brookfield at (708) 4857344 prior to the meeting. Wheelchair access is available through the front (south) entrance of Village Hall.

Public hearings may be continued from time to time without further notice, except as otherwise required under the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed bids at the Public Works Service Center, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, until 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021 for the following BID 21-137 VILLAGE OF OAK PARK BLUESTONE-GRANITE CROSSWALK REPAIR PROJECT REQUEST FOR BIDS Bid forms may be obtained from the Public Works Customer Service Center by calling 708-358-5700 or by stopping by the office located at 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Information is also available from the Streets Superintendent, Scott Brinkman, sbrinkman@oak-park.us or on the Village’s website http://www.oak-park.us/your-government/finance-department.

The Village of Oak Park reserves the right to issue proposal documents and specifications only to those vendors deemed qualified. No proposal documents will be issued after 4:00 p.m. on the working day preceding the date of proposal opening. For more information call the Public Works Service Center at 708.358.5700.

THE VILLAGE OF OAK PARK

Published in Wednesday Journal September 8, 2021

GET IT. community news. calendar. high school sports. weekend events. restaurant reviews. real estate resources. local schools. shopping. police reports. opinions.

By the Order of Chuck Grund, Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman.

Published in RB Landmark September 8, 2021

OAKPARK.COM

PUBLIC NOTICES EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or intention to make any such preferences, limitations or discrimination.

The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal-opportunity basis.

To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777.

Wednesday Journal • Landmark • Forest Park Review

36

Wednesday Journal, September 8, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

SHRED IT AND FORGET IT! Saturday, September 11, 2021 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon

Forest Park Bank, the locally owned and managed community bank, is pleased to continue the tradition of sponsoring the Annual FREE Sensitive Document Shredding Event in its Madison Street parking lot.

The Bank has, again, engaged a professional shredding service to shred your sensitive documents with an industrial shredder—while you watch.

Forest Park Bank and Forest Park Police Department personnel will be on site to discuss identity security issues, including ways to protect your identity and what to do if you become a victim of identity theft or financial scams.

You may bring up to two 12” X 12” X 18” boxes of documents to be shred at no charge.

Three-ring notebooks and binders with large metal rings cannot be shredded. Staples are allowed.

If you have questions about this event, please call Don Offermann at 708 222 2836.

7 3 4 8 W E S T M A D I S O N S T R E E T, F O R E S T PA R K , I L 6 0 13 0 F O R E S T PA R K B A N K . C O M

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708.222.2800